Causes of Hypertension or High Blood Pressure
Only 10% of cases of high blood pressure have a specific cause – with high blood pressure being a symptom or side effect of medication. This is know as secondary hypertension, because the hypertension is a secondary effect.
If you have one of these conditions then your doctor will be monitoring your blood pressure – so it is important to see your doctor regularly and do all that you can to keep your blood pressure under control.
For the remaining 90% of cases of high blood pressure (called primary hypertension) there is no one specific cause. A cluster of lifestyle factors is usually to blame.
Root Causes of High Blood Pressure
Smoking
Each cigarette actually raises your blood pressure temporarily. But cigarette smoke doesn’t only damage your lungs. Those chemicals can also damage your arteries, leading them to narrow which will increase your blood pressure.
Obesity
As you put on weight your body needs more blood to get the oxygen and nutrients to all of your body. This means your heart has to work harder, and your blood pressure rises.
Inactivity
Regular physical activity helps your blood flow system (The way this happens is too complicated to go into here). Being inactive means that your heart has to beat more often, and harder to get the same effect.
Too much salt
Why this raises your blood pressure isn’t totally clear. We do know that too much sodium can cause you to retain water - which increases blood pressure. We also know that there is a clear link between people with excess sodium in their diets and high blood pressure.
Overuse of alcohol
Having more then two or three drinks in one session will cause a temporary rise in blood pressure. Consistently drinking too much will cause heart damage – and high blood pressure. As well as causing liver damage.
If you have any of the risk factors for High Blood Pressure it is especially important that you monitor your blood pressure. You must also make sure that you keep the lifestyle factors under control
Simple lifestyle adjustments are enough for most people with pre-hypertension. Taking care of these lifestyle factors will give you lots of health benefits – not just avoiding Hypertension.