Hypertension (High blood pressure) is defined as a condition in which the arteries have persistently elevated blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood against the blood vessel walls. If the pressure is high then heart has harden to pump. Hypertension may also lead to damaged organs, and also cause severe illnesses like kidney failure (renal), heart failure etc. The normal level for blood pressure is 120/80, here 120 represent the systolic pressure (maximum pressure in the arteries) and 80 represent the diastolic pressure (minimum pressure in the arteries). The blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered hypertension. There are various major causes of hypertension like obesity, lack of physical activity, deficiency of vitamin D, insufficient calcium, potassium and magnesium consumption, chronic kidney disease, aging etc. In this article, focus is on the various types of hypertension, causes of hypertension, pathophysiology of hypertension and antihypertensive drug therapy. The choice of specific drug therapy is depend upon safety, efficacy and cost.
