healthing spoke with cardiologist
dr. diego delgado
of toronto’s university health network, who is also a professor of medicine at the university of toronto. he has treated heart patients for 25 years.
what is hypertension?
dr. delgado:
it’s a medical condition that affects the body’s arteries. basically, the walls of the arteries are stiff, so the heart has to pump harder. that also creates cardiovascular problems, which is why hypertension is the number one risk factor for stroke and a major risk factor for other cardiovascular diseases.
what are the signs of hypertension?
dr. d:
most people with hypertension do not have symptoms, even if the blood pressure reaches a dangerously high level. so that’s one of the problems. and you can have hypertension for many, many years without any symptoms. one in four canadians has hypertension but is not aware of it. so it is essential to be seen by a family doctor or a nurse who can measure the blood pressure regularly with the blood pressure cuff machine. it is simple to diagnose.
how do people develop hypertension? what are the risk factors?
dr. d:
definitely there are risk factors: obesity or being overweight, family history of hypertension related to a genetic condition, not being physically active, smoking, diabetes, heavy alcohol intake and, of course, age. with age, the arteries get stiff and hypertension is more common. then you have some chronic medical conditions like sleep apnea or kidney disease that can also trigger hypertension. so in all these conditions, that’s what usually happens. they trigger different processes in the body, including inflammation, that over time will generate abnormalities in the structure of the arteries in the body that will then induce hypertension.
5 minute read
