Can The Causes Of Diastolic Hypertension Be Controlled?

Before any attempt is made to answer this question, it is important that the meaning of diastolic hypertension be understood. When the ideal blood pressure for an adult is defined as 120/80, the figure 120 refers to the pressure exerted against the wall of the blood vessels when the heart is squeezing the blood out – or pumping it. This is called systolic pressure. The 80 is the pressure on the walls when the heart is in its relaxed state between squeezing actions- diastolic pressure. In other words diastolic blood pressure is the lowest pressure of the blood, when the heart is at rest. Any increase in either the systolic or diastolic pressure indicates that the flow of blood is not proper and is a sign of more serious problems that have to be treated.

For a long time medical science tended to ignore diastolic pressure as not being as important as systolic and so the effects of high diastolic blood pressure and the causes of diastolic hypertension were not given their due importance. Modern medicine now finds that diastolic hypertension is a major danger and should not be ignored. A simple example clarifies this. The best diastolic pressure is 75 mmHg. Every 10 mmHg rise in the diastolic pressure causes the chances of a stroke, heart attack or other complications to double. By contrast, it takes a rise of 20mmHg in the systolic pressure to present a similar danger.

The Causes Of Diastolic Hypertension

The causes of diastolic hypertension are two fold. The first is natural aging. As a person ages his body begins to function less efficiently. The heart is not immune to this and the heart muscles become stiff and weak, so the pumping action is less efficient. This means that the movement of the blood slows down and the slow moving blood retains a higher pressure even when the heart is resting between pumps. So the diastolic pressure rises. This is perhaps the most common cause of diastolic hypertension. A family history of heart problems is another cause of diastolic hypertension. In both these cases, that of aging and genetic disposition, there is nothing that can be directly done to remove the causes of the problem. The only thing is to look after the health and take the proper medication to alleviate the condition.

However, lifestyle is also a major cause of diastolic hypertension. Smoking, drinking, bad dietary habits, a sedentary life with inadequate physical activity and stress, generic causes of hypertension in adults, are also responsible for diastolic hypertension as a specific health issue. These can be controlled and with a balanced diet, adequate exercise and relaxation, these causes of diastolic hypertension can, if not be completely removed, at least be brought under control.