Moses Folauhola

Dr. Green
Human Biology
11/07/2015
Hypertension (Eportfolio)

Diseases, whether theyre hereditary or developed from poor habits of how we choose to
live our lives, they can make life that much tougher for us. Hypertension or also known as High
Blood Pressure, is one out of many more diseases that exist on the globe. I have high blood
pressure, it runs in my family. A lot of times it seems as if I am restricted from a lot of good
tasting foods. I used to get really bad headaches from not taking care of myself by watching what
I eat. Although hypertension is a disease, I dont see it as one because, I believe that if it werent
for my high blood pressure I wouldnt be so wise and careful about what it put in my body and
also, how I take care of my body. I feel like hypertension has been a teacher in my life because it
has sort of played the role of a nutritionist. Hypertension is not something to play with and or
forget about.
What hypertension actually is, is high amounts of pressure of blood against the walls of a
persons arteries. Which is kind of scary to think about what types of issues in the body it can
cause. Basically how high blood pressure is determined is by the amount of blood the heart
pumps. Sometimes if the arteries are pretty narrow and only letting a smaller than normal
amount of blood through, only then is when a person can say he or she has hypertension.
The heart, kidneys and brain can be severely affected by hypertension. The heart takes
the fall because when blood is being pumped through the arteries that are narrow then it means

that the heart has to work that much harder because less blood is flowing through the arteries
than needed. The kidneys can be affected also because while the heart has to work harder over
time if not treated the right way with the right type of care it can eventually damage vessels in
the body and for the kidneys, damaging vessels on them can result in poor performance of doing
its job and getting rid of waste. Vessel damage in the kidneys is not good and can open doors to
other more severe health problems on the body. Hypertension can also affect the brain as well,
like causing a stroke. Again the weakening of blood vessels can play a big part in having a
stroke. It can weaken and narrow the vessels so much that they start to pop open and bleed.
Hypertension can also cause blood clots in arteries that lead up to the brain causing a person to
have a stroke. Hypertension can be a pretty unyielding type of disease if a person were not to
take it serious.
It is pretty scary to hear the things that hypertension can do to the body if a person were
to let it go on untreated. Like most conditions or diseases, there are ways of treating
hypertension. Some of the ways can be simple everyday actions like exercising regularly.
Exercise can help a person lose weight which in turn can help decrease blood pressure. Exercise
is a big part in living a healthy life and most of the time it seems that exercise is the answer to
some sicknesses. Moving the body is one of the natural weapons we have to fighting diseases
like hypertension. Another natural treatment is to eat a healthier diet with less sodium. Of course
exercising regularly is great for being healthy, but you cant exercise and have a poor diet to go
with it, so eating the right things go a long way in dealing with high blood pressure. One of the
things to stay away from the most when you have hypertension is Sodium also known as table
salt. This can be the worst enemy to anybody who has high blood pressure. Sodium can be a
dangerous food tool if its not used in the correct amounts. Although putting salt on foods

makes them taste really good, it could be damaging to a person who has hypertension because
too much sodium can cause an elevated blood pressure which is not good. There are many ways
of being healthy by natural ways of living life like exercise, dieting, getting the proper amount of
rest at night and other things. Luckily, we have more options to lowering the blood pressure by
using medications. Using blood pressure medications are another helpful way to lowering blood
pressure, but we still have to be careful and not abuse these medications which could cause other
problems.
There are many things that cause this disease, many areas of the body that are affected by
it and many problems that occur in those areas of the body. There are also many ways of treating
hypertension and whether the treatment can have a positive or negative affect on the body. All
these things, a person has to take account of when dealing with high blood pressure, are very
important. Hypertension can have something to do with genetics. If the parents have it or have
family members who have hypertension, it can be passed down from generations. Another thing
that can cause a person to develop high blood pressure can be environmental factors. Maybe
what goes on at home can have a lot to do with elevated blood pressure. Being angry about
something, worrying and more could do a lot of damage to the body and the blood pressure.
Although there are many problems that come along with having high blood pressure,
there are also many invocations of this disease as well. Making sure we are watching what we
put into our bodies with the fear of our blood pressure rising can be a good thing because it is
helping us to eat healthier. Trying to lose weight in order to bring down the blood pressure is also
good because it is forcing us to get exercise if we are used to being lazy. Taking medications
can also have a positive affect because making sure that we take our medications can teach us
how to be accountable. Sometimes it seems as if diseases were put on this earth to scare us and

make our lives miserable. Rarely does anyone see the good that it brings to our health. Not only
are diseases like hypertension used as a limit for how youre supposed to eat, but it is also a
teacher for how to live our lives that is more beneficial for us in the long run. This life is short, so
live it the best way you can.

Work Cited
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/basics/definition/con20019580