What does the term hypertension mean, and what is its common abbreviation?

What does the term hypertension mean, and what is its common abbreviation?

• A. High blood pressure; HTN
• B. Low blood pressure; LBP
• C. Elevated heart rate; EHR
• D. High blood sugar; HBS

Answer: (A)

Hypertension refers to persistently elevated blood pressure, the force of blood against artery walls when the heart beats and between beats. In medical practice, it is commonly shortened to HTN. That makes the description high blood pressure with HTN the best choice because it matches both the meaning and the standard abbreviation used by clinicians. The other options mix up conditions or use acronyms that refer to something else: low blood pressure is hypotension, and LBP is more often low back pain; an elevated heart rate is tachycardia, and EHR stands for electronic health record; high blood sugar is hyperglycemia, and HBS is not a standard abbreviation.

Hypertension refers to persistently elevated blood pressure, the force of blood against artery walls when the heart beats and between beats. In medical practice, it is commonly shortened to HTN. That makes the description high blood pressure with HTN the best choice because it matches both the meaning and the standard abbreviation used by clinicians. The other options mix up conditions or use acronyms that refer to something else: low blood pressure is hypotension, and LBP is more often low back pain; an elevated heart rate is tachycardia, and EHR stands for electronic health record; high blood sugar is hyperglycemia, and HBS is not a standard abbreviation.