10 causes of high blood pressure | Living Healthier

The blood vessels are the structures in charge of transporting blood from the heart to all the tissues of the body. When blood is pumped by the heart, the blood pushes against the walls of blood vessels. This force with which the blood pushes can be measured and it is called blood pressure. Your blood pressure is shown using systolic (pressure when your heart beats) and diastolic (pressure between heart beats) figures, and is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Normal: 120 / 80 mmHg or lower. At risk (pre-hypertension): 120–139 / 80–89 mmHg. High risk: 140 / 90 mmHg or higher. When people have high blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, it means that their heart is working harder than usual to pump the blood around the body, which can produce serious consequences such as atherosclerosis (the hardening of the arteries walls), heart failure, strokes, kidney diseases, among other diseases and conditions. Although high blood pressure can be controlled with lifestyle changes and medication, there are many conditions that can cause its elevation. The following are the most common causes of high blood pressure: 1 Overweight and obesity. Many studies have demonstrated that losing weight helps to reduce blood pressure. So being overweight and obese is related to having a higher blood pressure, but the specific mechanisms that produce hypertension in obese people are not clear. However, most overweight or obese people eat meals with high levels of salt and fat, which can increase blood pressure directly. Also, if a person has more body tissue, their heart must work harder to pump oxygenated blood around the body. 2 Sedentary lifestyle. A lack of exercise is also considered an important risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases. Exercise helps to control blood pressure, weight, strengthen the heart and even relieve stress levels. The American Heart Association recommends exercising with a moderate to vigorous activity at least 40 minutes, 4 days a week. More symptoms on next page... 3 Eating salty food. Sodium (the main mineral contained in the salt) is a mineral which is necessary for the proper functioning of the human body. However, when a person has extra sodium in the bloodstream, it pulls water contained in other tissues of the body into the blood vessels, which in turn increases the volume of blood that the heart must pump. This increases the force that must be performed by the heart. When a person continues to consume high levels of salt, the volume of blood remains high, causing severe problems for the heart and blood vessels. More symptoms on next page... 4 Stress. When a person is under a lot of stress, the brain sends signals to release different hormones that can increase blood pressure. There is no scientific evidence to explain how stress causes high blood pressure, however experts say that stress can be linked to other behaviors that increase the blood pressure, like drinking alcohol, smoking, poor sleeping habits, among others. 5 Smoking. Smoking is one of the main risk factors for many cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. Smoking can cause an impairment of the endothelial function, vascular inflammation and stiffness, and an alteration of certain factors related to coagulation (like platelets). If the walls of the blood vessels are stiff, the heart needs to increase the force with which it pumps the blood into blood vessels, and this causes high blood pressure. Likewise, smoking can stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which causes an acute increase in blood pressure. In the long term, smoking can also cause severe damage to the arteries of the kidneys and brain, which also causes secondary hypertension. 6 Older age. As people get old, the blood vessel walls get stiff. In fact, some studies have shown that men over age 45 and women over age 65 are more prone to develop hypertension. Likewise, women have an increased risk of developing a cardiovascular disease after menopause, including hypertension. 7 Alcoholism. Although the mechanism why alcohol causes hypertension is not completely clear, there are many hypotheses about it. Among the most common theories that have been proposed are (apologies for getting technical) the impairment of the baroreceptors, inappropriate stimulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, imbalance of the central nervous system, increased cortisol levels, enhanced sympathetic activity and increased vascular reactivity due to increase in intracellular calcium levels. 8 No-cause. When high blood pressure has no apparent cause, it is medically called 'essential hypertension' or 'primary hypertension'. To diagnose hypertension, the doctor must discard all the possible secondary causes of hypertension first. According to experts, approximately 95% of all people with hypertension do not have a secondary cause, so they are diagnosed with primary or essential hypertension. Essential hypertension is considered a heterogeneous condition because it is caused by many factors, including lifestyle, lack of exercise, smoking, drinking excess of alcohol, genetic, among others. 9 Inheritance. Some recent studies have shown that hypertension has a polygenic inheritance, which means that many genes must be inherited to develop the disease. However, in most cases, when a person is diagnosed with hypertension, they usually have many relatives that have suffered from hypertension too. 10 Damage of other organs. Many organs interfere with blood pressure level, and when one of them is affected, it may trigger secondary hypertension. The thyroid gland and kidneys are considered important organs in the regulation of blood pressure, so people with acute or chronic kidney disease and hyperthyroidism usually develop secondary hypertension. Finally... It is always important to undergo periodic medical checks to determine if the blood pressure is within the normal limits, less than 120 over 80 millimeters of mercury (120/80 mmHg). Having a healthy lifestyle and taking certain medication (if needed), can help maintain blood pressure levels.

4 Stress

5 Smoking

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