To Mountainhiker

Like a lot of other people, I had heard of high blood pressure but I never thought of it as being a big concern. My first introduction to high blood pressure was when I found out that my mother had it. I remembered my instructior explaining the I-Search Paper to the class, and she said that it had to be related to us or related to someone that we knew. I recalled sitting in class undecided about what topic I would search. As I looked around I noticed that most of the students in class already had their topic or at least an idea, but me I was still clueless. The following day when class began I became excited when the words high blood pressure came to mind. I thought to myself that high blood pressure would be the perfect topic. I knew that more blacks than whites had high bloodp pressure but I did not know why. I also knew that not only older but younger poeple have high blood pressure. Knowing that my knowledge about high blood pressure was superficial, I wanted to know more in depth about it.

Because my mother is afflicted with high blood pressure, also know as the silent killer, I decided to learn more about this ugly and deadly disease. I wanted to know some ways I could avoid getting high blood pressure. Theredore I decided to interview my mother. I wanted to get her perspective of high blood pressure. Following this I began by asking my first question. How di you learn that you had high blood pressue? "When I was pregnant with my second child". she replied. Explaining that she had went to the doctor for prenatla care when the doctor supspected she had the disorder.


After collecting my sources from the Internet and Nursing 2002 magazine, I was ready to begin my I-Search. I learnde and searched what the experts had to say about the difference between high blood pressure and normal blood pressure. Chua tells us that high blood pressure/hypertension is a condition that keeps the blood pressure elevated above normal . He tells us that normal blood pressue ranges from 100/140 over 60/90, written or recorded as 100/60 to 140/90, systolic is the top number and diastolic is the bottom number(N.page). Woods writed that if a person is diabetic then 130/85 is considered high blood pressure(N.page). Chua defines systolic pressure as the force of the flow of blood traveling through the arties pipe and diastolic pressure as the force exerted by the blood against the inside wall of the artery(N.page). Keane put it this say,'think of your arties as a garden hose." When water comes out of the end it only reachers an inch or two then drops to the ground. The bush at the end of the garden didn't get watered;therefore you will have to add a nozzle to make the water shoout out the end easier, so it will reach the bush at the end of the garen(N.page).

In the meantime, Chua tells us that primary and secondary hypertension is he most common high blood pressure condition. He said that despite primary hypertension/essentialy hypertensive have no known cause, but heredity is believed to be it origin. Anne Montague writes that four in ten men and women have hypertension, but approximately eighty percent of them are not being treated(Interests).Graham Gregor says that high blood pressure is one of the biggest cause of preventable death, in the Uk. Gregor also writes that a ten year study shows tha more than two hundred thousand people that are overweight are more likely to have high blood pressure. Gregor also writes sthat African Americans are more vulnerable to hypertension -research suggest that they are more sesnitive to salt in diet and have a higher risk of stroke.

One Website writes that fifthy million American adults, espcially African Americans tend to develop it earlier and more than whites. Obesity, eating too much saltl, alchol, lack of exercise and stress are controllable risk factor. Race, heredity, and age or uncontrollable risk factors.('Health Beat"). Futher morer Chua tells us that secondary hypertension is caused by certain condition or disease like bilateral kidney disease, execessice alcoho intake, and ingestion of contraceptive. He is quick to not forget, white coat hypertenison, a condition that cause a person blood pressure to rise in the presence of the doctor, but return to normal when the doctor is absent(N.page)