Approximately 65 million American adults have high blood pressure, reports Maureen O’Hara Padden, M.D., in “Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine.” It is estimated that only 70 percent of people with hypertension know that they have this disorder. Only 59 percent are receiving treatment, and just 34 percent have it under control.
Primary Hypertension
Primary hypertension is also called essential hypertension. This type of cardiac hypertension is responsible for 95 percent of all of the cases of high blood pressure, writes John Hall, Ph.D., in “Hurst’s the Heart.” People receive this diagnosis when physicians cannot find any disease that is making the blood pressure increase. Physicians do believe that the highest risk factor for this type of hypertension is being overweight. Dr. Hall writes about a Framingham Heart Study that estimated that 65 percent of women with hypertension and 78 percent of hypertensive men have high blood pressure because of their excess weight. Other risk factors include too much salt or alcohol, too little potassium and a sedentary lifestyle.
Secondary Hypertension
When people have hypertension because a disease, condition or medication is causing the increased blood pressure, it is called secondary hypertension. The diseases that can cause increased blood pressure include various kidney diseases and kidney failure, acromegaly, Conn’s syndrome, pheochromocytoma and Cushing syndrome. In acromegaly, people have a benign brain tumor that secretes too much growth hormone. People with Conn’s syndrome and pheochromocytoma have an adrenal tumor. In Cushing syndrome, people have high levels of cortisol. The medical term "secondary hypertension" also includes the hypertension some women develop during pregnancy. Dr. Hall writes that oral contraceptives, cocaine, amphetamines, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and high amounts of licorice can all cause secondary hypertension.
Hypertensive Urgency
Hypertensive urgency is a type of cardiac hypertension that is urgent because people have severe hypertension. Chronic hypertension can lead to strokes, eye disease, heart disease and kidney failure. People with hypertensive urgency have a very high blood pressure, but they do not have organ failure yet.
Hypertensive Emergency
In this type of cardiac hypertension, people have a very high blood pressure level and have signs that an organ is failing, explains by George Bakris, M.D., in the Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. They will usually have symptoms of severe damage to the brain, heart and/or kidneys. Many times, this is fatal.
References
- “Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine”; Jeannette South-Paul, M.D., Samuel Matheny, M.D., Evelyn Lewis, M.D.; 2008
- “Hurst’s The Heart”; Valentin Fuster, M.D., Ph.D., Robert O’Rourke, M.D., Philip Poole-Wilson, M.D., Richard Walsh, M.D.; 2008
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Hypertensive Emergencies
