Researched Articles
Research Article #1
According to Hirschler et al. (2018), hypoxia which is associated with high altitude increases the risk of suffering hypertension. The researchers conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis which showed that children living at least 3,750 meters above sea level were 4 times as likely as those living below 2,400 meters to develop hypertension. Therefore, the environment, and in this case the elevation of a geographic location, is a significant contributor to this medical condition. Hirschler et al. argues that there should be fewer people, if any, living such highly elevated locations, and their stay should also be temporary.
Research Article #2
Mendy et al. (2020) argue that the risk of developing hypertension is strongly correlated to an individual’s age, their race, and body mass index. They arrived at those conclusions upon completing a study that had 6,965 respondents from 2013 to 2017. They also found that the risk was higher among Blacks than was the case with any other race. Even though they added that careers in maintenance, production, and repair were associated with high likelihood of having hypertension, it is still possible that this correlation is not indicative of causation. The real causes could be someone’s race, age, and BMI.
Research Article #3
Singh et al. (2018) conducted a study that had a sample of 8 million respondents. They sought to assess the influence of the racial and ethnic differences on the prevalence of hypertension. The concluded that Blacks and Filipinos had a significantly higher probability of suffering from this condition than any other demographic group. Factors such as obesity, pregnancy, and diabetes increased the risk among all categories of people. Indeed, Singh et al. suggested that these issues should be included in the screening criteria because they would help medical practitioners to share credible pieces of advice to their clients.
Research Article #4
Wang et al. (2019) evaluated ways through which hypertension is managed across heterogeneous groups in the United States. The analysis included 14 subgroups of people, with data gathered between 1999 and 2016. The multivariate analysis indicated that hypertension was closely linked to BMI, race and ethnicity, waist-to-height ratio, and diabetes. It was also noted that individuals who smoked and consumed pre-prepared and packaged food items were at a much higher risk of hypertension than those who did not consume these substances. They recommend further studies to help determine the effect sizes of each of these major risk factors.
Research Article #5
Yang et al. (2019) sought to investigate if there is the kind of diet that can mitigate hypertension. They found that the consumption of some food items reduce blood pressure, and this may prevent coronary artery disease. If someone is also following the advice of a nutritionist in regards to managing their diabetes, their relative risk of developing hypertension is decreased substantially. These results are noteworthy, considering that the researchers had a total of 377,725 participants. Their study, therefore, had the powers to estimate the true scenario in the population.
Why I Chose Hypertension?
Though I do not have it, hypertension is common in my family. I understand that it could be caused by genetic factors and triggered by the environment. Nonetheless, I am not fully aware what those factors are, and how I can control the environment to mitigate the risk of developing this condition.
Description and Symptoms of Hypertension
Hypertension is the situation where blood vessels persevere a significantly raised pressure. Healthy blood pressure is supposed to be below 120 systolic and under 80 diastolic. When the systolic and diastolic readings are at least 140 and 90 respectively, the individual is said to be suffering from hypertension (Singh et al., 2018). Among the symptoms include unexplained sweating, anxiety, insomnia, nosebleeds, and headaches (Hirschler et al., 2018). Nonetheless, it is important to always seek medical attention if this problem is suspected, or if one believe that they are at risk of developing it (Mendy et al., 2020). This is because for a significant number of people, no symptoms are discerned.
Summary
The fact that hypertension can be undetected makes it imperative for those at risk to seek medical attention. The typical way of detecting this condition is through the use of an arm cuff and a gauge for measuring pressure. In addition to physical examination, physicians ask questions pertaining to their client’s medical history. Blood pressure is deemed to be normal if it is under 120/80 mm Hg. Hypertension is often diagnosed when these readings rise to 140/90 mm Hg (Yang et al., 2019). By the time one is experiencing numbness, breathing challenges, chest pains, and vision difficulties, the problem has become a crisis.
Hypertension could be mitigated by improving one’s lifestyle, and particularly changing the eating habits. The patient should also get regular physical exercises, although they must not strain themselves. Other remedying measures include keeping the body weight within healthy limits, and limiting or ceasing alcohol consumption (Wang et al., 2019). In cases where improved diet and exercising fail to produce the desired results, the doctor could recommend medication. However, medication must never be considered to be a substitute for improved lifestyle.
References
Hirschler, V., Molinari, C., Gonzalez, C., Maccallini, G., & Castano, L. A. (2018). Prevalence of hypertension in Argentinean indigenous children living at high altitudes versus US children. Clinical & Experimental Hypertension, 40(8), 752–757. Web.
Mendy, V. L., Vargas, R., Ogungbe, O., & Zhang, L. (2020). Hypertension among Mississippi workers by sociodemographic characteristics and occupation, behavioral risk factor surveillance system. International Journal of Hypertension, 1–6. Web.
Singh, G. K., Siahpush, M., Liu, L., & Allender, M. (2018). Racial/ethnic, nativity, and sociodemographic disparities in maternal hypertension in the United States, 2014-2015. International Journal of Hypertension, 1–14. Web.
Wang, D., Hatahet, M., Wang, Y., Liang, H., Bazikian, Y., & Bray, C. L. (2019). Multivariate analysis of hypertension in general US adults based on the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline: Data from the national health and nutrition examination survey 1999 to 2016. Blood Pressure, 28(3), 191–198. Web.
Yang, Z. Q., Yang, Z., & Duan, M. L. (2019). Dietary approach to stop hypertension diet and risk of coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. International Journal of Food Sciences & Nutrition, 70(6), 668–674. Web.