Symptoms

Most people with hypertension do not show any symptoms and are often detected on a routine medical examination.

The common symptoms are :

Nervous symptoms (usually the first to appear) which include :
- Irritability
- Nervousness
- Inability to concentrate mind
- Throbbing headache
- Loss of sleep
- Giddiness
Bleeding from nose, gums.
In very severe cases there may be involvement of vital organs :
- Heart symptoms : breathlessness on slight exertion, anginal pain (pain in chest), swelling in ankles. In more severe cases there is breathlessness even at rest, dropsy (swelling throughout the body).
- Eye symptoms : rapid failure of vision or sudden blindness due to hemorrhage in the eyes may be the first symptom to attract the attention to blood pressure.
- Kidney symptoms : Puffiness under the eyes is noticed in the morning. Scanty, high colored urine with presence of albumin (protein) in urine. In severe cases renal failure may occur.
- Brain symptoms : Vomiting, convulsions. Hemorrhage in brain (apoplexy) resulting in paralysis, coma or death.