High blood pressure in the context of "Dementia"

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and is the most common form of dementia, accounting for around 60–70% of cases. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, disorientation (including easily getting lost), mood swings, loss of motivation, self-neglect, and behavioral issues. As a person's condition declines, they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Although the speed of progression can vary, the average life expectancy following diagnosis is three to twelve years.

The causes of Alzheimer's disease remain poorly understood. There are many environmental and genetic risk factors associated with its development. The strongest genetic risk factor is from an allele of apolipoprotein E. Other risk factors include a history of head injury, clinical depression, and high blood pressure. The progression of the disease is largely characterised by the accumulation of malformed protein deposits in the cerebral cortex, called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These misfolded protein aggregates interfere with normal cell function, and over time lead to irreversible degeneration of neurons and loss of synaptic connections in the brain. A probable diagnosis is based on the history of the illness and cognitive testing, with medical imaging and blood tests to rule out other possible causes. Initial symptoms are often mistaken for normal brain aging. Examination of brain tissue is needed for a definite diagnosis, but this can only take place after death.

Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as either acute kidney failure, which develops rapidly and may resolve; and chronic kidney failure, which develops slowly and can often be irreversible. Symptoms may include leg swelling, feeling tired, vomiting, loss of appetite, and confusion. Complications of acute and chronic failure include uremia, hyperkalemia, and volume overload. Complications of chronic failure also include heart disease, high blood pressure, and anaemia.

Causes of acute kidney failure include low blood pressure, blockage of the urinary tract, certain medications, muscle breakdown, and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Causes of chronic kidney failure include diabetes, high blood pressure, nephrotic syndrome, and polycystic kidney disease. Diagnosis of acute failure is often based on a combination of factors such as decreased urine production or increased serum creatinine. Diagnosis of chronic failure is based on a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of less than 15 or the need for renal replacement therapy. It is also equivalent to stage 5 chronic kidney disease.

Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 28 and 32 weeks, early preterm birth occurs between 32 and 34 weeks, late preterm birth is between 34 and 36 weeks' gestation. These babies are also known as premature babies or colloquially preemies (American English) or premmies (Australian English). Symptoms of preterm labor include uterine contractions which occur more often than every ten minutes and/or the leaking of fluid from the vagina before 37 weeks. Premature infants are at greater risk for cerebral palsy, delays in development, hearing problems and problems with their vision. The earlier a baby is born, the greater these risks will be.

The cause of spontaneous preterm birth is often not known. Risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, multiple gestation (being pregnant with more than one baby), being either obese or underweight, vaginal infections, air pollution exposure, tobacco smoking, and psychological stress. For a healthy pregnancy, medical induction of labor or cesarean section are not recommended before 39 weeks unless required for other medical reasons. There may be certain medical reasons for early delivery such as preeclampsia.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of consciousness, fever, weakness, numbness, and sometimes seizures. Neck stiffness or neck pain are also relatively common. In about a quarter of people a small bleed with resolving symptoms occurs within a month of a larger bleed.

SAH may occur as a result of a head injury or spontaneously, usually from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Risk factors for spontaneous cases include high blood pressure, smoking, family history, alcoholism, and cocaine use. Generally, the diagnosis can be determined by a CT scan of the head if done within six hours of symptom onset. Occasionally, a lumbar puncture is also required. After confirmation further tests are usually performed to determine the underlying cause.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a type of long-term kidney disease, defined by the sustained presence of abnormal kidney function and/or abnormal kidney structure. To meet the criteria for CKD, the abnormalities must be present for at least three months. Early in the course of CKD, patients are usually asymptomatic, but later symptoms may include leg swelling, feeling tired, vomiting, loss of appetite, and confusion. Complications can relate to hormonal dysfunction of the kidneys and include high blood pressure (often related to activation of the renin–angiotensin system), insulin resistance, bone disease, and anemia. Additionally CKD patients have markedly increased cardiovascular complications with increased risks of death and hospitalization. CKD can lead to end-stage kidney failure requiring kidney dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Causes of chronic kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, glomerulonephritis, and polycystic kidney disease. Risk factors include a family history of chronic kidney disease. Diagnosis is by blood tests to measure the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and a urine test to measure albumin. Ultrasound or kidney biopsy may be performed to determine the underlying cause. Several severity-based staging systems are in use.

Nephrotic syndrome is a collection of symptoms due to kidney damage. This includes protein in the urine, low blood albumin levels, high blood lipids, and significant swelling. Other symptoms may include weight gain, feeling tired, and foamy urine. Complications may include blood clots, infections, and high blood pressure.

Causes include a number of kidney diseases such as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy, and minimal change disease. It may also occur as a complication of diabetes, lupus, or amyloidosis. The underlying mechanism typically involves damage to the glomeruli of the kidney. Diagnosis is typically based on urine testing and sometimes a kidney biopsy. It differs from nephritic syndrome in that there are no red blood cells in the urine.

Beta blockers, also spelled β-blockers and also sometimes known as β-adrenergic receptor antagonists, are a class of medications that are predominantly used to manage abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia), and to protect the heart from a second heart attack after a first heart attack (secondary prevention). They are also widely used to treat high blood pressure, although they are no longer the first choice for initial treatment of most people. There are additional uses as well, like treatment of anxiety, a notable example being the situational use of propranolol to help dampen the physical symptoms of performance anxiety.

Beta blockers are competitive antagonists that block the receptor sites for the endogenous catecholamines epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) on adrenergic beta receptors, of the sympathetic nervous system, which mediates the fight-or-flight response.

The adrenergic receptors or adrenoceptors are a class of G protein-coupled receptors that are targets of many catecholamines like norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline) produced by the body, but also many medications like beta blockers, beta-2 (β₂) agonists and alpha-2 (α₂) agonists, which are used to treat high blood pressure and asthma, for example.

Many cells have these receptors, and the binding of a catecholamine to the receptor will generally stimulate the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The SNS is responsible for the fight-or-flight response, which is triggered by experiences such as exercise or fear-causing situations. This response dilates pupils, increases heart rate, mobilizes energy, and diverts blood flow from non-essential organs to skeletal muscle. These effects together tend to increase physical performance momentarily.

Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs that are structurally related to testosterone, the main male sex hormone, and produce effects by binding to and activating the androgen receptor (AR). The term "anabolic steroid" is essentially synonymous with "steroidal androgen" or "steroidal androgen receptor agonist". Anabolic steroids have a number of medical uses, but are also used by athletes to increase muscle size, strength, and performance.

Health risks can be produced by long-term use or excessive doses of AAS. These effects include harmful changes in cholesterol levels (increased low-density lipoprotein and decreased high-density lipoprotein), acne, high blood pressure, liver damage (mainly with most oral AAS), and left ventricular hypertrophy. These risks are further increased when athletes take steroids alongside other drugs, causing significantly more damage to their bodies. The effect of anabolic steroids on the heart can cause myocardial infarction and strokes. Conditions pertaining to hormonal imbalances such as gynecomastia and testicular size reduction may also be caused by AAS. In women and children, AAS can cause irreversible masculinization, such as voice deepening.

Ergocalciferol, also known as vitamin D₂ and nonspecifically calciferol, is a type of vitamin D found in food. It is used as a dietary supplement to prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency due to poor absorption by the intestines or liver disease. It may also be used for low blood calcium due to hypoparathyroidism. It is taken by mouth or via injection into a muscle.

Excessive doses can result in vitamin D toxicity causing increased urine production, high blood pressure, kidney stones, kidney failure, muscle weakness, and constipation. If high doses are taken for a long period of time, tissue calcification may occur. Normal doses are safe in pregnancy. It works by increasing the amount of calcium absorbed by the intestines and reabsorbed by the kidneys. Food in which it is found include some mushrooms.

Serotonin syndrome (SS) consists of a group of symptoms that may occur with the use of certain serotonergic medications or drugs. The symptoms can range from mild to severe, and are potentially fatal. Symptoms in mild cases include high blood pressure and a fast heart rate, usually without a fever. Symptoms in moderate cases include high body temperature, agitation, increased reflexes, tremor, sweating, dilated pupils, and diarrhea. In severe cases, body temperature can increase to greater than 41.1 °C (106.0 °F). Complications may include seizures and extensive muscle breakdown.

Serotonin syndrome is typically caused by the use of two or more serotonergic medications or drugs. These may include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), amphetamines, pethidine (meperidine), tramadol, dextromethorphan, buspirone, L-tryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptophan, St. John's wort, triptans, MDMA, metoclopramide, or cocaine. It occurs in about 15% of SSRI overdoses. It is a predictable consequence of excess serotonin on the central nervous system. Onset of symptoms is typically within a day of the extra serotonin.