lifestyle and heredity

Several problems concerning disease predisposition by heredity and lifestyle were discovered after interviewing my grandmother. My mum, dad, brother, and two sisters make up my immediate family. There is no evidence of a genetic or lifestyle-related health disorder. High blood pressure, on the other hand, has affected one of my distant kin, my grandma. She was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 83 and is now 91. According to this article, I am at low risk of developing the disease due to heredity or lifestyle.

High blood pressure definition

The disease is also referred to as hypertension. While heredity is a common hypertension predisposing factor, lifestyle choices are also known to affect the chances of contracting the disease. These lifestyle choices include smoking tobacco, age, and gender. Living a sedentary life can also put one at risk of the disease (Londe). Other factors include excessive consumption of sodium and alcohol, inadequate consumption of potassium and vitamin D, and high-stress levels.

There are several signs that may indicate one has high blood pressure. However, these symptoms often become detectable at later stages of the disease. Among these symptoms are severe headaches, confusion or fatigue, nausea, chest pains, problems with vision, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, and signs of blood in one’s urine and sensations of pounding in one’s ears, neck or chest. Advanced stages of the disease may lead to further complications in one’s vital organs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ). When affecting the heart, symptoms of hypertension may be heart attacks and swelling of one’s limbs due to inadequate blood circulation. When affecting the kidney, symptoms may include urine retention, swelling of one’s legs, profuse sweating, and kidney failure.

Since curative measures in the treatment of high blood pressure are often unsuccessful, physicians recommend treatment of the disease’s symptoms, adjustment of lifestyle and preventive measures (Cutler and Roccella 818). Adjusting one’s lifestyle is a possible preventive measure on its own. Other measures include maintenance of a healthy body mass index, balancing one’s diet, reduction of one’s sodium intake, engaging in regular exercise, avoidance of alcohol and tobacco, and monitoring of one’s blood pressure. In the measure regarding balancing one’s diet, an increase in one’s intake of vegetables and fruits is beneficial.

High blood pressure and lifestyle

When one assesses my likelihood of contracting high blood pressure following the analysis of my family’s health history, one can conclude that the chances are minimal. This is since my grandmother was only a distant member. Moreover, no other case runs in my family; whether distant or close. Since my grandmother was retired and led a sedentary life, one can assert that heredity lifestyle choice predisposed her to hypertension.

Moreover, the fact that I exercise regularly further reduces my chances of contracting hypertension. This is since I run the treadmill for about 3 hours in a week. Be that as it may, other measures could also be taken to further reduce those chances. I, therefore, plan to only take in 3,000 calories per day while leading an active lifestyle as per the directive in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). Moreover, I plan to regularly get blood tests to make sure that I am free of the disease (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute). In addition to that, I plan to increase my intake of vegetables and fruits.

Works Cited

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . “Vital signs: prevalence, treatment, and control of hypertension--United States, 1999-2002 and 2005-2008.” MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report (2011): 103.

Cutler, Jeffrey A. and Edward J. Roccella. “Salt reduction for preventing hypertension and cardiovascular disease.” Hypertension (2006): 818-819.

Londe, Sol. “Causes of hypertension in the young.” Pediatric Clinics of North America (1999): 55-65.

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. In Brief: Your Guide To Lowering Your Blood Pressure With DASH. 18 September 2015. 6 August 2017 .