Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart has to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and diastolic. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 mm/Hg. The first figure is the systolic blood pressure, the pressure there is in the arteries when your heart is contracting. The second, or lower figure, is the diastolic blood pressure, which is the pressure in your arteries between heart beats. High blood pressure is anything above 140/90 mm/Hg. Hypertension is the opposite of hypotension. Hypertension is classified as either primary hypertension or secondary hypertension. About 90–95% of cases are categorized as " primary hypertension, " which means high blood pressure with no obvious medical cause. The remaining 5–10% of cases (іecondary hypertension) are caused by other conditions that affect the kidneys, arteries, heart or endocrine system.

Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure, and is a leading cause of chronic kidney failure. Moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. Dietary and lifestyle changes can improve blood pressure control and decrease the risk of associated health complications, although drug treatment may prove necessary in patients for whom lifestyle changes are ineffective or insufficient.

Mild to moderate essential hypertension is usually asymptomatic. Accelerated hypertension is associated with headache, drowsiness, confusion, vision disorders, nausea, and vomiting.

Although no direct cause for hypertension has been identified, there are many factors such as sedentary lifestyle, smoking, stress, obesity, potassium deficiency, salt sensitivity, alcohol intake, and vitamin D deficiency that increase the risk of developing hypertension. Risk also increases with aging, some inherited genetic mutations, and having a family history of hypertension.

The first line of treatment for hypertension includes some lifestyle changes such as dietary changes; physical exercises; weight loss.

Exercise 5. Answer the questions to the text:

1. What is systolic blood pressure?

2. What is diastolic blood pressure?

3. What blood pressure is considered to be normal?

4. What may persistent hypertension lead to?

5. What are the consequences of moderate elevation of blood pressure?

6. What is accelerated hypertension associated with?

7. What increases the risk of developing hypertension?

8. How is hypertension usually treated?

Exercise 6. Find the translation of the following word combinations in the text:

Первинна гіпертонія; виправдовувати негайне застосування ліків; стійка гіпертонія; зміни у способі життя; помірне підвищення кров’яного тиску; пряма причина; наявність гіпертонії у сім’ї; дефіцит калію; сидячий спосіб життя; фактори ризику інсульту; фізичні вправи; зміни у харчуванні; успадковані генетичні мутації; чутливість до солі; неефективний та недостатній.

Exercise 7. Find antonyms of the following words: