Understanding the Causes of High Blood Pressure. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a chronic condition that occurs when blood pressure levels rise, leading over time to hardened arteries that impede blood flow. This condition is sometimes referred to as the “silent killer”. Because it often presents no symptoms but can lead to life-threatening diseases such as heart attacks or strokes. Often, people can prevent or treat high blood pressure.
What Are the Causes of Hypertension?
Hypertension results from the force blood exerts against artery walls. The amount of blood the heart pumps and the arteries’ resistance to blood flow determine this pressure.
The more the heart pumps and the narrower the arteries, the higher the blood pressure will be.
Hypertension comes in two types: primary, with no identifiable cause, and secondary, caused by underlying conditions.
For instance, certain kidney diseases come with hypertension (renal hypertension), and excessive function of some endocrine glands leads to increased blood pressure due to elevated production of mineralocorticoids (hyperaldosteronism) or catecholamines (pheochromocytoma).
Factors Influencing Hypertension
Essential hypertension, often linked to several factors, lacks identified specific causes in affected individuals. It is helpful to distinguish between factors related to heredity, sex, age, and race—which are less modifiable—. Those that may change by altering habits and environment, such as obesity, sodium sensitivity, and excessive alcohol consumption. The use of oral contraceptives, and a very sedentary lifestyle.
Heredity: A tendency or predisposition to develop high blood pressure is passed from parents to children. The exact mechanism is unknown, but accumulated experience shows that having one or both parents with hypertension doubles the chances of developing the condition compared to those with non-hypertensive parents.
Sex: Men are more prone to developing high blood pressure than women until menopause, after which the frequency equalizes.
Age and Race: Unfortunately, age, a non-modifiable factor, influences blood pressure levels. Blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, tends to increase with age. Furthermore, individuals of Black descent are twice as likely to develop hypertension as those of White descent and generally have a worse prognosis.
Obesity: Beyond non-modifiable factors, lifestyle, and dietary habits play a crucial role in manifesting hypertension. Documentation well supports the relationship between weight and blood pressure. Reducing obesity has been a long-standing treatment method.
Everyone should have their blood pressure checked annually; however, those at greater risk should pay particular attention to controlling obesity, reducing salt intake, limiting alcohol consumption, and avoiding sedentary lifestyles.
For more in-depth knowledge, we invite you to read our article on What Are Stem Cells?
