Hypertension

Hypertension
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about arterial hypertension. For other forms of hypertension, see Hypertension (disambiguation).
Hypertension |
Automated arm blood pressure meter showing arterial hypertension (shown a systolic blood pressure 158 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure 99 mmHg and heart rate of 80 beats per minute) |
Classification and external resources |
ICD-10 | I10,I11,I12,
I13,I15 |
ICD-9 | 401 |
OMIM | 145500 |
DiseasesDB | 6330 |
MedlinePlus | 000468 |
eMedicine | med/1106 ped/1097 emerg/267 |
Patient UK | Hypertension |
MeSH | D006973 |
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure or arterial hypertension, is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. Blood pressure is expressed by two measurements, the systolic and diastolic pressures, which are the maximum and minimum pressures, respectively, in the arterial system. The systolic pressure occurs when the left ventricle is most contracted; the diastolic pressure occurs when the left ventricle is most relaxed prior to the next contraction. Normal blood pressure at rest is within the range of 100–140 mmHg systolic and 60–90 mmHg diastolic. Hypertension is present if the blood pressure is persistently at or above 140/90 millimeters mercury (mmHg) for most adults; different criteria apply to children.[1]
Hypertension usually does not cause symptoms initially, but sustained hypertension over time is a major risk factor for hypertensive heart disease, coronary artery disease,[2] stroke, aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease, and chronic kidney disease.
Hypertension is classified as either primary (essential) hypertension or secondary hypertension. About 90–95% of cases are categorized as primary hypertension, defined as high blood pressure with no obvious underlying cause.[3] The remaining 5–10% of cases are categorized as secondary hypertension, defined as hypertension due to an identifiable cause,...