IV -
Why does high blood pressure exist?
4.1
- Most of the time, there is no explanation for this high blood pressure
But sometimes a disease is responsible for
hypertension:
the secondary arterial hypertensions
4.2
- The medical procedure
4.3 - Causes
4.3.1
- Drugs
4.3.2
- An hormonal disorder
4.3.3
- High blood pressure induced by the kidney
4.3.4
- A rare cause: presence of an obstacle in the aorta
4.3.2 - A
hormonal disorder
1 -
An
increase in the secretion of adrenalin by the suprarenal glands
(located above the kidneys), in particular the medullo-suprarenal glands,
can be responsible for a high blood pressure: this disease is called
phéochromocytoma.
High blood pressure occurs in a sudden way, is generally accompanied
by flushes, rednesses of the face, and by hypotensive episodes.
Blood and urine tests reveal
a high quantity of adrenalin. The abdominal scanner can highlight the
mass secreting adrenalin in the suprarenal gland.
The treatment of the phéochromocytoma
is surgical, extracting the mass from the suprarenal gland.
2
- An increase in the quantity
of cortisol secretion by the suprarenal gland ("cortico-suprarenal") can also
be responsible for a high blood pressure. This exaggerated cortisol
secretion is accompanied by obesity, anomalies of the skin (thin
skin with an anomaly of the pigmentation, stretch marks), and fatigue.
The high quantity of cortisol
can be highlighted by a blood test, and the suprarenal mass is found
on the abdominal scanner.
Its treatment is also surgical,
it consists of extracting this mass from the suprarenal gland.
3
- An increase of the secretion
of the aldosterone by the suprarenal gland can also be responsible for a high blood
pressure.
This high secretion of aldosterone
involves the whole of the suprarenal gland, cortico and medullo-suprarenal,
and is explained by a hypertrophy of the suprarenals glands or a mass
called Conn adenoma.
The only symptom is a high
blood pressure, and the diagnosis of this disease will be made by the
blood test, which shows a high quantity of aldosterone. The abdominal
scanner shows the hypertrophy or the adenoma of the suprarenal glands.
The treatment of the adenoma
is surgical, whereas the treatment of the hyperplasy is medical and
involves using a product on the aldosterone, the spironolactone, which
is prescribed by pills over a long time.
- More rarely, arterial hypertension
is due to the inappropriate secretion of the growth hormone.
Classically, the patients
are tall and have a deformation of the face and of the hands. The diagnosis
is carried out by the blood test which highlights a high rate of growth
hormone in the blood.
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last modified on : 28 sep 2003 |
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