Hypertension

Hypertension is the medical term for a high blood pressure, it's a condition in which blood pressure is rised over the level considered normal for the age and the person 's weight.

Blood pressure is, in first place, dependent on the body weight, therefore childrens and teenagers have a lower blood pressure than adults.Blood pressurerises gradually with increasing age. The artery walls become less elastic, and more pressure is needed to keep the blood flowing. A raised diastolic pressure can damage the heart and blood vessels, and hypertension can lead to heart attack, stroke and chronic disease of the arteries. Untreated hypertension can be very serious. Treatment is weight loss if obese, reduced salt intake, diuretic drugs and measures to control stress. Hypertension can increase risks in pregnancy for mother and child, but monitoring usually prevents serious problems.

Symptoms of hypertension include: headaches, palpitations, angina and shortness of breath, swollen ankles.

Blood pressure is measured using a sphygmomanometer and has two components: systolic and diastolic pressure. The systolic is the pressure in the artery that occurs when the left ventricle of the heart contracts. Diastolic pressure is that recorded when the ventricle dilates and refills with blood.

The values of the blood pressure:

Diastolic pressure(mmHg)

< 85	normal blood pressure
85 - 89	normal blood pressure but at it's superior limit
90 - 104	easy hypertension
105 - 114	moderate ( high ) hypertension
> 144	severe hypertension

Systolic pressure

When diastolic pressure is below 90 mm Hg

< 140	normal
140 - 159	systolic hypertension but at it' s inferior limit
> 159	systolic hypertension

The risk factors for hypertension can be classified:

a) those which we can not control [ heredity, ageing, race (the risk is higher in african race )].

b) The risk factors which we can control are:

• insulin resistance
• the obesity ( overweight )
• the diet ( the excess of sodium )
• the utilisation of oral contraceptives
• the absence of physical activity

Although the heredity is a risk factor for hypertension, probably this has a smaller role than other factors.

A few epidemiological studies were made to show the relation between the absence of physical activity and hypertension. Active people have a low systolic and diastolic pressure.

A number of adjustments requested in the strenght training could influence both blood pressure, during resting and blood pressure during effort .

One of the most important changes that come with rezistance training is the increased plasma volume.

We could say that every rising in the plasma volume will increase blood pressure; particularly because one of the first drug methods of intervention in hypertension cases is administrateing diuretics that help to eliminate water and, in the same time, decreases the plasmatic volume.

Trained muscles have a rised number of capillaries. Also, the venous system in a trained person has a larger capacity, beeing able to transport more blood. These are the reasons why the increased plasma, consequence of physical effort, doesn't result from hypertension.

At persons with moderate high blood pressure, not only the physical effort can reduce the blood pressure, it must be associated with other factors. Sport training is important for losing weight, which is important at the decrease of glucose level in the blood, in this way helping to a better control of glicemy.

This last effect can decrease the insulinic resistance, another risk which causes high blood pressure. Physical effort was also associated with the stress reduction.