Various types of hypertension that you need to know

Hypertension or high blood pressure is classified into several categories or types. If you have a history of high blood pressure, it's a good idea to know the various types of hypertension. The reason is, knowing the various types of high blood pressure can reduce your risk of developing hypertension complications in the future.

What are the types of hypertension?

High blood pressure occurs when the blood flow becomes very strong at the arteries. The American Heart Association (AHA) often calls this condition a silent killer because it doesn't cause symptoms of hypertension, but it puts you at risk for other serious diseases, such as heart disease, and even death.

Even though there are no symptoms, a person can be known to have hypertension through checking blood pressure. A person is said to have hypertension when his blood pressure reaches 140/90 mmHg or more.

Hypertension can happen to anyone, including young children and pregnant women. This condition is also caused by various things. Based on the causes of hypertension, blood pressure levels, and certain conditions that accompany it, hypertension is divided into several types. Here are some types of hypertension that may occur and you need to know:

1. Primary or essential hypertension

In many cases, most people with high blood pressure experience primary hypertension, also called essential hypertension. This type of hypertension tends to appear gradually over the years.

Experts suspect that genetic factors are one of the causes of primary hypertension. Even so, some unhealthy lifestyle habits also contribute to primary hypertension.

Most people who have primary hypertension have no symptoms at all. Some people don't even know that they have symptoms of high blood pressure because they often have similar symptoms to other medical conditions.

2. Secondary hypertension

On the other hand, a person can develop high blood pressure because they have one or more medical conditions. Certain pre-existing medical conditions can be the cause of high blood pressure. Blood pressure that rises for this reason is known as secondary hypertension.

This condition tends to appear suddenly and can cause blood pressure to jump higher than primary hypertension. Not only the influence of certain medical conditions, the use of certain drugs can also contribute greatly to secondary hypertension.

Some conditions that can trigger this type of hypertension include:

• Adrenal gland disorders include Cushing's syndrome (a condition caused by excess production of cortisol), hyperaldosteronism (too much aldosterone), and pheochromocytoma (a rare tumor that causes excess secretion of hormones such as adrenaline).
• Kidney disease includes polycystic kidney disease, kidney tumors, kidney failure, or narrowing and blockage of the main arteries that supply the kidneys.
• Taking drugs such as corticosteroids, NSAIDs, weight loss drugs (such as phentermine), some cold and cough medicines, birth control pills, and migraine medications.
• Experiencing sleep apnea, which is a condition that occurs when a person has brief pauses where they stop breathing during sleep. About half of patients with this condition have high blood pressure.
• Coarctation of the aorta, a birth defect in which the aorta is narrowed.
• Preeclampsia, a condition related to pregnancy.
• Thyroid and parathyroid problems.

3. Prehypertension

Prehypertension is a medical condition in which your blood pressure is higher than normal, but not high enough to be categorized as hypertension. If you have this condition, it is a warning sign that you are at risk of developing hypertension.

A person is said to have prehypertension if their blood pressure is between 120/80 mmHg and 140/90 mmHg. The normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mmHg and a person is classified as hypertension if it reaches 140/90 mmHg or more.

This type of hypertension generally does not show any signs and symptoms. If symptoms have started to appear, you need to check with your doctor to find out the possibility of a higher increase in blood pressure.

4. Hypertensive crisis

Hypertensive crisis is a type of hypertension that has reached a severe stage. This condition is characterized by drastically spiking blood pressure that can reach 180/120 mmHg or more.

Blood pressure that is too high can damage blood vessels, cause inflammation, and possibly internal bleeding. This condition can cause life-threatening complications, such as a stroke. Therefore, the sufferer must be treated immediately by the medical team in the emergency unit (UGD).

Hypertensive crises can be caused by several things and diseases, such as forgetting to take prescribed blood pressure medications, suffering from strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and kidney failure. In this condition, a person may feel certain symptoms, but may also not feel any symptoms, such as headache, shortness of breath, nosebleeds, or excessive anxiety.

Meanwhile, hypertensive crises are divided into two types, namely urgency and emergency.

5. Hypertension urgency

Urgent hypertension is part of the hypertensive crisis. In urgency hypertension, your blood pressure is already very high, but it is thought that no damage has occurred to your organs. Therefore, in this condition, generally a person has not felt any symptoms that lead to organ damage, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, back pain, numbness or weakness, vision changes, or difficulty speaking.

Like the hypertension crisis, urgent hypertension also needs medical attention to the hospital. However, this condition is no more worrying than other types of hypertensive crises, namely hypertensive emergencies.

6. Hypertensive emergency

In hypertensive emergencies, the blood pressure is too high and has caused damage to the body's organs. Therefore, in this condition, generally a person has started to feel severe symptoms that lead to organ damage, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, back pain, numbness or weakness, vision changes, difficulty speaking, or even in some cases. seizures may occur.

A person suffering from hypertensive emergencies needs to immediately get emergency medical treatment at the hospital. If not treated immediately, this condition can be life threatening.

7. Hypertension in pregnancy

Not only in ordinary people, women who are pregnant can also experience high blood pressure. Hypertension in pregnancy can cause problems for both the mother and the baby. This condition can interfere with organ function so that it can cause premature birth or low birth weight of the baby.

Hypertension in pregnancy is at risk for women who prior to pregnancy have a history of high blood pressure. Then, the condition continues while pregnant. This type of hypertension is known as chronic hypertension.

Apart from chronic hypertension, there are also other types of hypertension in pregnancy, namely gestational hypertension, chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia, preeclampsia, and eclampsia.

Gestational hypertension, also known as pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), is a condition when blood pressure increases during pregnancy. This condition generally appears after 20 weeks of gestation and can disappear after delivery.

Chronic hypertension and gestational hypertension that are left untreated can lead to more serious health problems, namely preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is characterized by the presence of protein in the urine which is a sign of damage to organs. There are several organs that are at risk of damage in this type of hypertension, such as the kidneys, liver, or brain.

Preeclampsia that doesn't get treatment can develop into eclampsia which can cause seizures or coma in the sufferer.

8. Hypertension after childbirth or postpartum preeclampsia

Not only pregnant women, mothers who after giving birth can experience high blood pressure. This condition is then called postpartum preeclampsia.

Most cases of postpartum preeclampsia can develop within 48 hours of delivery. But in some cases, this condition can also occur up to six weeks after delivery.

Women who suffer from hypertension after giving birth need immediate medical care. If not treated immediately, this condition can get worse, causing seizures or other postpartum complications.

9. Pulmonary hypertension

Another type of high blood pressure is pulmonary hypertension. Unlike hypertension in general, this condition occurs in the blood vessels from the heart to the lungs or rather focuses on the blood pressure flowing in the lungs.

Normal blood pressure in the pulmonary veins should be in the range of 8-20 mmHg when the body is resting and 30 mmHg when the body is doing physical activity. If the pulmonary artery pressure is above 25-30 mmHg, this condition can be categorized as pulmonary hypertension.

The causes of pulmonary hypertension can vary. Some of them are the consumption of illegal drugs, heart defects from birth, suffering from other lung diseases, and staying too long at certain altitudes. If this condition is not treated immediately, the heart will work harder to pump blood, so you are at risk of developing heart failure.

10. Hypertension in the elderly

An elderly person generally has higher blood pressure than a young person. If this is not controlled, hypertension in the elderly may occur and can increase the risk of developing other diseases, such as stroke.

Unlike young people, experts set the normal blood pressure of the elderly to be kept below 140/90 mmHg. The above figures include hypertension. Young people generally need to maintain normal blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg.

However, overcoming hypertension in the elderly needs to be careful. According to the blood pressure in the elderly suddenly and quickly can endanger their health. In this condition, the elderly can experience dizziness, body unsteadiness, and are prone to falling.

11. Isolated systolic hypertension

Another type of hypertension, namely isolated systolic hypertension. Hypertension is also common in elderly people, especially women. In this condition, the systolic blood pressure increases to 140 mmHg or more, while the diastolic blood pressure is below 90 mmHg.

Isolated systolic hypertension occurs due to certain medical conditions, such as anemia, kidney disease, or even obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

12. Resistant hypertension

Resistant hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure cannot be controlled even after using hypertension drugs. In this condition, the blood pressure tends to stay at a high level, reaching 140/90 mmHg or more even though you have taken three types of hypertension medication to reduce it.

Resistant hypertension can occur in someone with certain medical conditions or other causes. Someone with resistant hypertension is more at risk of other diseases, such as stroke, kidney disease, and heart failure.

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