What Causes High Blood Pressure?

High Blood Pressure is also known as Hypertension.
It is a serious health condition that affects at least
one out of three adults in the United States. It is
even more serious because it hardly ever gives a
warning sign or symptoms, thereby making it
difficult for people who are affected to know until it
is too late. In some cases, it leads to sudden death.
High Blood Pressure can however be managed or
prevented but to do so, it is important to understand
what high blood pressure really is, and what causes
high blood pressure.
What is High Blood Pressure?
High Blood Pressure is when the force of blood
pushing the artery walls is increased and as a
result, causes the heart to work harder than it really
should. The heart is responsible for pumping blood
into the arteries, from where it is circulated
throughout the whole body.
But when a person suffers from high blood pressure,
the heart has to work harder to circulate blood and
this may eventually lead to other problems like
hardening of the arteries or heart failure.
How to Detect High Blood Pressure
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) is usually
referred to as a silent killer. This is because of its
lack of symptoms unlike other health problems
where there are usually several tell-tale signs to help
patients detect or suspect that there might be a
problem somewhere. Patients with high blood
pressure hardly know that they are suffering from
the disease until it becomes too late.
However, you can prevent sudden death caused by
hypertension through early detection and constant
monitoring. A regular blood pressure reading can
help you detect high blood pressure early.
A Blood pressure reading would usually contain two
numbers, a numerator and a denominator. The
numerator (the top number) is known as the
Systolic, while the denominator (the bottom
number) is known as the Diastolic.
A person with a blood pressure reading of 120/80
can be said to have a normal pressure while a blood
pressure reading of between 120-130 /80-89 indicates
that the person is in a pre-hypertensive stage and
may eventually suffer from hypertension if serious
measures are not immediately taken. Any blood
pressure reading above that may be an indication
that a person is suffering from Hypertension.
However, for older people a blood pressure reading of
over 140/90 indicates high blood pressure.
It is advisable to visit your doctor regularly for a
blood pressure reading to ensure early detection,
prevention and management of high blood pressure.
What Causes High Blood Pressure?
1. Primary Hypertension: This is also called
essential hypertension. This type of
hypertension has no specific, identifiable cause
and is sometimes said to be caused by
environmental, genetics and age factors.
Majority of people who suffer from
hypertension suffer from this type of
hypertension.
2. Secondary Hypertension: Secondary
hypertension is usually caused by another
medical condition which the patient may
already be suffering from. For instance, some
women develop secondary hypertension during
pregnancy. Secondary hypertension would
usually go away when the underlying
condition is treated.
Other causes of hypertension include:
Alcohol Abuse: Excessive drinking of alcohol
can raise the blood pressure to unhealthy levels
overtime and cause hypertension. The calories
in alcohol can also lead to excessive weight
gain, which is another common cause of
hypertension.
Illegal Drugs: Some illegal drugs like Cocaine,
Amphetamines and Acetaminophen can also
affect the blood pressure.
Medications: Taking of some medications such
as anti-depressants, caffeine, birth control
pills, migraine medications, anti-inflammatory
drugs and nasal decongestants can also
increase blood pressure.
Birth Defects: Sometimes, a person may suffer
from high blood pressure due to defects in their
blood vessels. This type of hypertension is can
be traced to a person’s genes.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Another major cause
of secondary hypertension is a health condition
known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea. It is a
sleeping disorder that causes shortness/
cessation of breath during sleep.
Obesity: Being Overweight or Obese can also
cause a person to develop Hypertension. Excess
fat in the body would require extra oxygen and
nutrients and since it is the heart’s job to
supply these nutrients, it has to overwork
itself to achieve this, thereby leading to
increase in blood pressure.
Poor Diet: High Blood Pressure may also be
caused by a poor diet. When a person
consumes too much sodium, caffeinated drinks
or fatty foods, there are risks of developing
high blood pressure.
Sedentary Lifestyle: Another major cause of
high blood pressure is living a sedentary
lifestyle characterized by low levels of physical
activity or no physical activities at all.
Age: A person may also develop hypertension
as they age. The risks of a person developing
hypertension would actually increase as they
grow older.
Smoking: People who smoke are also at a risk
of developing high blood pressure. The nicotine
contents in cigarettes may cause the arteries to
become narrow and hardened. This stresses the
heart out and eventually leads to hypertension.
Vitamin Deficiencies: Vitamin D deficiency is
yet another factor that may lead to
hypertension. Researchers have discovered that
people with lower levels of Vitamin D are at a
higher risk of developing hypertension.
Chronic Kidney diseases as well as thyroid and
adrenal problems may also cause hypertension.
Click on the arrow below to read how you can
control High Blood Pressure.

How to Control Hypertension without Drugs
Hypertension can be controlled or even cured by
taking some measures to reduce the causative
factors. Some of the steps that you can take in order
to cure hypertension without necessarily taking
medications include:
1. Lose Weight: If you are overweight or obese,
shedding a few pounds might go a very long
way in helping you cure high blood pressure.
2. Increase Physical Activity: One of the major
causes of high blood pressure is living a
sedentary lifestyle therefore increasing your
levels of physical activity can go a long way
in decreasing your blood pressure. You should
make it a goal to try to get at least 30 minutes
of exercise daily.
3. Improve on Your diet: Another step to take is
to improve on your eating habits. Focus on
eating foods that are high in fibre, vegetables
and potassium and avoid foods that have high
cholesterol or sodium levels.
4. Reduce Consumption of Alcohol: Excessive
consumption of alcohol also has negative
impact on your blood pressure therefore you
should try to reduce or completely avoid
consumption of alcohol.
5. Quit Smoking: Lastly, if you are a smoker,
you should try to quit your smoking habits to
avoid ingestion of high amounts of nicotine,
which affects the arteries and causes
hypertension.