High blood pressure is consisted of two components, which are the systolic and diastolic or the high and low end of the blood pressure, respectively. In other words, the systolic refers to the maximum blood pressure while the diastolic is the minimum blood pressure. Hence, when the minimum gets too high or when the high diastolic blood pressure occurs, it might already be a red signal for you to get to the nearest hospital and seek medical attention and medication from your doctor. This is also because, if you are going to research the basic definition of this, you will find out that it refers to the rate of the heart when it is relaxed. So, if it should be relaxed while there is a high diastolic blood pressure, then it is sure that it is a problem already.
In this view, it is very vital and essential for everyone to know the basic and important things about high diastolic blood pressure. According to medical experts and practitioners, among the basic pieces of information that you need to at least understand include its general characteristics, its possible causes, who are commonly affected by this kind of medical condition as well as its symptoms and appropriate treatments. All of these aspects will be discussed in this article for you to have a background and idea on what this high diastolic blood pressure is all about.
What is High diastolic blood pressure?
On the one hand, high diastolic blood pressure is considered as equivalent to the isolated diastolic hypertension. As a matter of fact, they refer the same, which is related to blood pressure and hypertension. If it is the first that you will know about getting the blood pressure of a person or if you have not experienced yet taking your blood pressure or BP, then it usually represented by two numbers like 120/80 (read as 120 over 80). The first one is the systolic while the second one is the subject of this article, which is the diastolic. As I have stated above, the second number refers to the rate of the pumping of the heart when it is at rest or relaxing.
For you to generally understand what high diastolic blood pressure is, it is best to know the normal rate. In this regard, the most common or usual diastolic rate or blood pressure is at the level of 80. So, if your diastolic blood pressure goes somewhere between 80 and even up to 89, then you must watch your health. This is because it is already considered as the border line of having a high diastolic blood pressure. Further, if you have a diastolic blood pressure within this range, then it is already considered as pre-hypertension.
However, if the diastolic blood pressure goes beyond 90, then it is already the state of having a high diastolic blood pressure. When this happens, it may already require you to undergo some medical treatments, depending on your history and background. Furthermore, when the range of the rate goes from 130 to 139, then it is already the border line high. Hence, going further beyond that is already high. There are some instances when the systolic blood pressure will rise; hence, there will be a high diastolic blood pressure as well. But, there are also some cases when the systolic blood pressure goes up on its own even though that the diastolic blood pressure is in normal level. This condition is called the isolated systolic high blood pressure. This is commonly seen in older people or patients.
What Causes High diastolic blood pressure?
According to various medical reports and studies, there are at least four possible cause of having high diastolic blood pressure. These include obesity, irregular and unhealthy diets as well as having vices like alcoholism or smoking and, finally, kidney damage. These causes will be explained briefly in the subsequent sections below.
Firstly, one of the most common causes of high diastolic blood pressure is obesity. This is because according to various researches and surveys, obese people tend to have a higher risk in suffering hypertension and even other heart-related problems. Well, the primary reason for this is because the excess fats and cholesterol present in the body usually exert more pressure to the arteries or veins of the heart. This will then result to the condition of high diastolic blood pressure.
Secondly, another major cause of having a high diastolic blood pressure is the irregular and unhealthy diet that contains high levels of cholesterol and even salts. This is because, as we all know, salty food increases the sodium level in the blood that leads to a high diastolic blood pressure.
Thirdly, if you are also a heavy drinker and chain smoker, then you are prone from experiencing high diastolic blood pressure. This is also true for caffeine overdose or even drug-related addiction. This is according to several medical surveys conducted.
Lastly, if your kidneys are damaged, it will also eventually lead to having high diastolic blood pressure. Hence, if you have type 2 diabetes, you are also of high risk in suffering with this kind of condition. Aside from that, kidney-related infections may also result to secondary hypertension.
Further, other possible causes of having high diastolic blood pressure may also be due age, weight, stress as well as lifestyle and even depression. There are also so many studies supporting the claim that having a sedentary lifestyle may contribute to having a high risk of high diastolic blood pressure.
Available Treatments for High diastolic blood pressure
There are many available treatments for medicating high diastolic blood pressure. Some of these are in the form of pills, tablets and capsules since the most common medication is in the form of oral medicines. Nevertheless, there are also injectable treatments available for some cases. There are even cases that the medicine has to be in the dextrose, which is commonly for older people with kidney problems and heart-related illnesses. Having a healthy lifestyle may prevent suffering for this.