Malignant Hypertension - The Uncommon Silent Killer

Many Americans live with high blood pressure everyday, yet they continue to practice unhealthy lifestyles. Because the signs and symptoms of the cardiovascular disease go undetected for so long, other cardiovascular complications develop unexpectedly.

Once detected by medical professionals, they are obligated to treat the condition with medications to control its progression and lower the current levels.Consequently, if your blood pressure levels are severely elevated, you may be diagnosed with malignant hypertension.

Hypertension is known to cause many complications if not treated properly. The more common medical conditions include heart failure or stroke. However, when the blood pressure levels are extremely elevated, you may experience hypertension that will be characterized as malignant.

At this point, the patient will experience extensive vital organ damage. More so, the complications of hypertension are accompanied by papilledema. The damage is prominent in the eyes, brain, lung and/or kidneys.

Although very uncommon, malignant hypertension causes all the major organ system to be at risk. For instance, you may experience internal bleeding of the retinas, in both eyes, as well as swelling of the optic nerves behind the retinas. The other major organs are also especially sensitive to elevated blood pressure levels causing permanent damage.

The small blood vessels rupture as a result of high systolic and diastolic levels, which are generally greater than 240 and 120, respectively. This is a direct diagnostic criterion that characterizes untreated malignant hypertension.

To date, researchers continue to determine the exact causes for development of this type of hypertension. Ideally, there are several key factors noted by medical experts that identify individuals that are more at risk. An important key to this type of hypertension is the age factor.

Contrary to the particular age profile of the essential hypertension, younger patients are more at risk to develop malignant hypertension. Furthermore, individuals of African heritage are more at risk. Other factors include a history of kidney failure or renal artery stenosis and pregnant women with gestational hypertension or pregnant women that experience certain other pregnant related complications.

Malignant Hypertension is known to cause extreme organ damage and possibly, death. If you are diagnosed with this disease, it is necessary that you are admitted to the hospital for immediate treatment. This type of hypertension is also managed with specific medications to reduce the elevated blood pressure. These medications include nitropruside and nitroglycerin.

When taking these drugs, you will also be required to endure a number of blood test to asses the status of the vital organs. Again, it is extremely important that this disease is detected, diagnosed and subsequently treated immediately. In most cases, if this process is implemented, the prognosis for malignant hypertension is promising.