Young, obese, depressed and female.

There appears to be a rising incident of hypertension (high blood pressure) among the young in developed countries. This statement is, however, not evidence-based as there is no data to support this perceived trend, at least in this country.

Patients as young as 22 years old have been diagnosed as hypertensive (having high blood pressure). The symptoms are almost always frequent headaches and nausea with occasional blurring of vision. There is a specific examination work-up for young hypertensives to exclude causes such as abnormal hormone level and renal artery stenosis (blockage of artery supplying blood to the kidney). Young male hypertensives are usually obese (body mass index [BMI] in excess of 30).

There is yet a class of young hypertensives who can be detected by their physical appearance. This is the female who, apart from being obese, is depressed, hirsute (having visible facial hairs) and suffers from abnormal menstruation. These unfortunate souls have abnormal metabolic syndrome as well, leading to diabetes and hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol in the blood). This condition is referred to as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Left untreated, these people will end up with kidney failure.