Hypertension
Understanding hypertension?
Why do you need to monitor your heart when you have hypertension?
Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disorder and atrial fibrillation is the most common clinically significant arrhythmia. Both these conditions frequently coexist and their prevalence increases rapidly with aging. There are different risk factors and clinical conditions predisposing to the development of atrial fibrillation, but due its high prevalence, hypertension is still the main risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms (such as structural changes, neurohormonal activation, fibrosis, atherosclerosis, etc.) have been advocated to explain the onset of atrial fibrillation. The presence of atrial fibrillation per se increases the risk of stroke but its coexistence with high blood pressure leads to an abrupt increase of cardiovascular complications.
Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States. About 75 million American adults (32%) have high blood pressure that’s 1 in every 3 adults. Only about half (54%) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.
High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for more than 410,000 Americans in 2014—that’s more than 1,100 deaths each day. High blood pressure costs the nation $48.6 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications to treat high blood pressure, and missed days of work.