Preksha Dhyana Self Awareness by Relaxation

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 37

III
Raison D'Etre of Relaxation
(A) PHYSICAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL
Hypertension-a Disease with No Symptom
Ordinarily, no symptoms are associated with high blood pressure for many years. The insidiousness of hypertension lies in its covert, seemingly harmless nature, which can end in permanent damage to the heart or brain or at worst, in sudden death. Death of heart or brain tissue occurs directly as well as indirectly, through the development of what is commonly known as hardening of the arteries. When hardening of the arteries does develop, the target is usually one of the three vital organs : the heart, the brain, or the kidneys.
High blood pressure or hypertension requires the heart to pump blood at higher pressures, thus making the heart work harder and placing an excessive strain on the heart. It is very dangerous because it also increases the rate of development of hardening of the arteries. It is caused by the deposition of the blood clots, fats and calcium on the inside walls of the arteries, making the normally soft elastic arteries to become hard, inelastic and partly or completely blocked. This blockade may lead to dire consequences.
The risk of developing atherosclerosis or heardening of the arteries is directly related to the level of blood-pressure. The higher your B.P., the greater the risk. If the arteries to the heart, called coronaries, are blocked, death of heart cells is inevitable and a heart-attack follows. If
1. The technical name of the disease is atherosclerosis.
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