What Is Secondary Hypertension?

Secondary hypertension is high blood pressure that can appear suddenly yet has a recognizable cause, which, with the proper treatment both the underlying condition and high blood pressure can be controlled. Secondary hypertension can lead to renal failure, cardiovascular disease, and strokes. Proper treatment decreases the chance of these occurring. Secondary hypertension happens in approximately 5%-10% of people that have hypertension. The pressure on the arteries increase because of increased cardiac output or an increase in systematic vascular resistance. If the cardiac output is increased the reason is usually because of heightened neurohumoral activation in the heart or the blood volume is increased.

Causes of Secondary Hypertension

Some of the underlying causes of secondary hypertension can be stress, chronic renal disease, diabetic nephropathy, polycystic kidney disease, glomerular disease, hydronephrosis, aldosteronism, renal artery stenosis, sleep apnea, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Pheochromocytoma, Aortic coarctation, Cushing syndrome, Preeclampsia, or Primary hyperaldosteronism. Obesity also plays a role in causing secondary hypertension. Although alcohol, caffeine and smoking raise the blood pressure, they are not considered to be the cause of secondary hypertension. There are certain medications that are known to cause secondary hypertension. Some of these medications are birth control pills, cold medicines, Corticosteroids, or Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Secondary hypertension caused by medications may be the easily treatable if the person, with the approval of their doctor, may be able to stop taking the specific medication that is causing the hypertension. It is important that while on these medications that your blood pressure is monitored regularly, to ensure that your blood pressure remains at a healthy level.

Treatment

Those who are diagnosed with having secondary hypertension are treated by first dealing with the disease that caused the secondary hypertension. Depending on the case the person may need to be treated with anti-hyperintensive medication. For a more serious case the person may be required to undergo surgery in order to treat the underlying cause of the secondary hypertension. If a patient is diagnosed with hypertension a physician may run more tests to see if the patient has secondary hypertension. The diagnosis for secondary hypertension first starts with finding out if the person has a family history in any of the diseases that can cause secondary hypertension. A physical exam is then taken. The blood pressure of the patient is taken both standing and lying down. Physical characteristics are also taken such as their height, weight, and waist circumference. The underlying disease that may cause secondary hypertension must be dealt with first but the blood pressure still needs to come down while treatment of the disease is occurring. Following a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and exercise program is essential to lowering blood pressure and keeping at a healthy level. If the underlying disease is being treated you should still follow whatever steps necessary to keep your blood pressure in a normal zone. Also, never stop taking any medication unless on the advice of your doctor. Doing so, in some cases, can be just as dangerous as the secondary hypertension itself. Sources: http://adam.about.com/care/highbloodpressure/hbp_secondary.html http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_8_50/ai_77275992 http://www.cvphysiology.com/Blood%20Pressure/BP023.htm http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/secondary-hypertension http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/535322