Systemic arterial hypertension

Question 1

How is blood pressure shown on a bar graph in the population

Answer 1

Normal distribution

Question 2

What is Isolated Systolic Hypertension

Answer 2

isolated elevation in systolic pressure alone with normal diastolic pressures. Common in the elderly and is predominantly due to increased stiffness/reduced compliance of the large elastic blood vessels e.g. aorta

Question 3

What is White Coat Hypertension

Answer 3

Rise in blood pressure while

being examined by a physician e.g. fight or flight response

Question 4

What are the types of hypertension?

Answer 4

Primary

Secondary

Question 5

What is the difference between primary and secondary hypertension?

Answer 5

95% of cases, no known
cause identified
Secondary Hypertension - ~5% of cases with a defined underlying
cause. Uncommon but important because it may be curable

Question 6

What are the symptoms of hypertension

Answer 6

The majority of hypertensive patients are asymptomatic
and it is discovered during a routine physical examination or when a complication arises e.g myocardial infarction

The “classic” symptoms of headache and nosebleeds do not appear to occur more frequently than in the general population, except in very severe hypertension

Question 7

What are the signs of hypertension

Answer 7

• The only sign may be the high recorded blood pressure
• There may be signs due to organ damage caused by primary hypertension
• There may be signs due to the underlying pathology causing secondary hypertension