STAGES OF HYPERTENSION

David, Noelle Eliane M.

2NUR-3 RLE 4 Ms. Iza R. Alejandro, R.N.

Whenever we perform work, or just do our daily routine, we could not avoid being frustrated. Well, most of us can feel anxious and with much stress at some point in our lives. And with these, we couldnt tell if a person is suffering from a certain disease, well lets just say Hypertension. Hypertension is a condition in which the amount of pressure necessary for blood to pass through the body's arterial vessels becomes so dangerously high that if impacts other organs in the body. It is usually defined as a systolic blood pressure greater than 140/90 - where the first figure is the systolic blood pressure and the second is the diastolic blood pressure. See the chart below for the range of values:

STAGES Normal Pre-hypertension Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4

SYSTOLIC
Less than 120 120 - 139 systolic 140 - 159 systolic 160 - 179 systolic 180 - 209 systolic Greater than 210

DIASTOLIC
Less than 80 80 - 89 diastolic 90 - 99 diastolic 100 - 109 diastolic 110 - 119 diastolic Greater than 120

Prehypertension
This hypertension stage is defined as a systolic blood pressure between 120 and 139 or a diastolic pressure between 80 and 89. It is meant to identify adults who are at high risk for developing hypertension. If you have prehypertension, your doctor will advise you to begin lifestyle modifications to bring your blood pressure down to the normal range. Blood pressure medication isn't usually recommended unless the patient has diabetes or kidney disease and recommended lifestyle changes are not working. Lifestyle changes may include losing weight, eating a low-fat, lowsodium diet, exercising daily, limiting alcoholic intake, and not smoking.

Stage 1
If your systolic blood pressure is between 140 and 159 or your diastolic pressure is between 90 and 99, you are considered to be in hypertension stage 1. Your doctor will recommend the same lifestyle changes mentioned above, but you will also probably need to take medication. The JNC 7 report recommends that the first medication to use is a thiazide-type diuretic. A diuretic is a medication that lowers blood pressure by helping your body get rid of extra fluid and sodium. Diuretics are usually very effective, have few side effects, and are inexpensive.

Stage 2
If your systolic pressure is 160 or higher or your diastolic pressure is 100 or higher, you have hypertension stage 2. People at this stage usually must modify lifestyle habits and take a diuretic and another type of antihypertensive drug (maybe a third type if necessary). More than twothirds of hypertensive patients require two or more different medications. Other factors will determine your treatment. African Americans, who have a higher risk of developing hypertension-related complications, may require more aggressive treatment. If you have an underlying condition,

such as heart disease, diabetes, or kidney disease, your doctor will factor that into the treatment choice.

Stage 3
Fewer than 5% of people with hypertension fall into the stage 3 category. If your blood pressure reading is 180/110 to 210/125, you probably fall into this very dangerous category.

Stage 4
This is the most severe of the stages. If your hypertension reading is 210/130 to 230+/ 140+ or higher, you probably fall into this category and should seek immediate help. Because none of the stages of hypertension has symptoms, everyone, even children, should get their blood pressure checked regularly.