Psychosomatic disease affects both mind and body; hypertension certainly applies to this due to its effect on both the mind and the body alike. Hypertension occurs when an individual has abnormally and excessively high blood pressure, in which stress is highly related to. High blood pressure can be perilous because it makes the heart work even harder in order to pump blood into your body, which ultimately leads to heart failure or other illnesses such as kidney disease and strokes. Approximately 29% of Americans suffer from high blood pressure; alluding to one in three adults having hypertension. A possible explanation as to why Americans have elevated levels of hypertension is because citizens in the United States suffer from a fast-paced, stressful lifestyle. This disease negatively impacts the country and humanity. In the United States alone, 360,000 deaths were reported in 2013 related to hypertension. From these statistics, we can conclude that relatively 1,000 people per day die to this psychosomatic disease. Stress highly contributes to hypertension. There are many things that cause stress, which leads to the question: what factors of stress are associated with hypertension? The impact of stress is so prominent in hypertension that ultimately any situation in your life that seems troublesome or conflicting can relate to hypertension and worsen the condition. Although it is not scientifically proven, stress, in my opinion, is the root of
This can affect how an individual feels, think and behave. Signs and symptoms can include sleeping problems, loss of appetite and difficulty concentrating. Stress can usually cause high blood pressure.
Hypertension, defined as blood pressure readings higher than 140/90 mmHg taken on three different occasions, is one of the chronic diseases that poses major health problems to countless Americans and a major issue to almost every racial group living in the United States of America. In the simplest of words, hypertension forces the heart to pump blood harder throughout the body through blood arteries and veins. Such pumping can result in problems with the proper functioning of the heart. Hypertension does not only affect the heart. Many organs throughout the human body can get damaged due to the high pressured blood pumping towards them by the heart. Hypertension can cause the kidneys to dysfunction and also result in aneurysm. Apart from heart problems such as strokes and heart attacks, hypertension can result in the speedy aging of the human brain at a young age, which eventually results in neurotic problems as age increases.
The causes resulting in hypertension vary from person to person and can be extremely difficult to identify. In other words the exact causes of high blood pressure are not known, but several factors and conditions may play a role in its development, including: Smoking, Being overweight or obese, Lack of physical activity, Too much salt in the diet, Too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day), Stress, Older age, Genetics,
Cigarette smoking is a factor contributing to hypertension. Tobacco, which is smokeless, is also linked to hypertension via its nicotine and sodium content. In many instances, stress is a causative factor of high blood pressure. Relaxation techniques have some value in lowering blood pressure. Exercise reduces both blood pressure and stress.
According to the B.P value, what stage of hypertension is M.K. experiencing? Explain the rationale for her current medications for her hypertension. Also, discuss the impact of this disease on the U.S population.
While the exact origin of this disease is unknown, medical research claims there are predisposing factors that make an individual more prone to becoming hypertensive. The prevalence of high blood pressure differs by race/ethnicity, with the condition being more common among blacks, comprising 40.4% of known cases (MMWR, 2013). There are certainly other personal contributing factors that helped with the progression of the disease. Vicki is an African American woman in her early forties, and lives a very busy lifestyle which requires her to travel quite frequently. From this we know that she has an abnormally sedentary routine which promotes vascular insufficiencies. Lacking substantial physical activity permits the vessels to constrict over time. With more resistance in the arteries, her heart cannot pump resourcefully and blood flow is slowly
One risk that both hypertension and hypotension can cause is heart disease. Hypertension increases stress into a person’s blood vessel wall. This can result as ruptures in blood vessels. Hypotension however causes the blood to transport oxygen slowly. This can result into fatigue and weakness.
Chronic stress can trigger a negative cardiovascular system response that damages artery walls and stop blood flow. This causes high blood pressure and increase heart rate which can promote a heart attack.
Periods are more frequent (28-30 days) and menstrual flow varies between periods after her first child
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a prevalent disease in the United States affecting roughly 30% of the adults across the nation (CDC). Hypertension is a condition that is measured by the pressure of blood flowing into and out of the heart. This condition causes damage to the arterial walls of the heart, which can result in detrimental health events such as: heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and even kidney disease (CDC). There are typically no symptoms when hypertension is first developed; however, if blood pressure has been very elevated for an extended period of time then the following superficial symptoms can occur: severe headache, fatigue/confusion, vision problems, chest pain,
Reducing stress is also a very important lifestyle change that can positively affect the management of hypertension. People with hypertension should try to eliminate stress or cope with it in different ways. Aside from these lifestyle changes, medication can also help. Regardless of the changes made, blood pressure should be monitored closely and checked regularly if there is a history of hypertension.
Further potential triggers associated with the increase in hypertension include: chronic stress, sedentary behavior, elevated sodium intake, and alcohol consumption, among others (Blais, 2014).
According to McShane and Von Glinow, stress is a physiological and psychological response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to us (2015, p. 110). The human body reacts to stress with headaches, stomach aches, diarrhea, nausea, increased heart rate and blood pressure, muscle tightness, back pain, sweating, and increased production of cortisol and adrenaline (fight or flight hormones) (Stress management - the effects of stress, 2015). If left unmanaged, stress can affect the body’s immune system to fight off infection and disease and lead to depression and anxiety. Individuals who have persistent high blood pressure and don’t manage their stress levels are more likely to have heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (McShane &
Mrs. A (pseudonym) is an 83-year-old Samoan female of Christian religion who was admitted to an urban hospital on 02/04/15 by GP referral. She came in with chest pain associated with productive cough and shortness of breath (SOB) on exertion. She also complained of having recurrent episodes of vomiting mixed with saliva and fatigue. She has a history of asthma, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus on Metformin and double incontinence due to a long-standing history of intermittent constipation. Her chest computed tomographic (CT) revealed right lower lobe opacity indicating pulmonary consolidation, which means that her right lower lung has accumulated exudates in the alveoli that would have normally been filled by gas, indicative of bacterial pneumonia. Furthermore, a sputum gram stain sample collected from Mrs. A showed gram-positive bacteria, which is also a characteristic of pneumonia. Her blood tests revealed a high haemoglobin count, which may be caused by an underlying lung disease, as well as high white blood cell count confirming the presence of infection. Considering all diagnostic results, Mrs. A was diagnosed with right lower lobe bacterial pneumonia.
Stress has been linked to many diseases or malady conditions. Stress hormones that act on the heart, blood vessels, and lungs may contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, and asthma (Feldman, 17). Diseases of the stomach and intestines are often associated to stress because blood leaves these organs and moves to muscles used in running and fighting. Another difficulty is the prolonging increase of blood sugar can influence the development of diabetes. Stress also appears to influence the development of cancer.