What Conditions Can Elevate Systolic Blood Pressure?

With over 690 million people in the world that suffer from some form of hypertension, it is extremely common to have or know someone with high systolic blood pressure. High blood pressure causes range from spontaneous occurrences to pre-existing conditions.

Spontaneous

• Over 90 percent of hypertension cases are considered to be spontaneous, not being spawned from any known pre-existing condition.

Temporary Causes

• Rises in systolic pressure vary temporarily throughout our day to day lives. By changing activity levels or your state of mind, anyone can temporarily raise or lower their blood pressure.

Atherosclerosis

• Aging causes plaque to accumulate on arteries, ultimately leading to hardening. This can elevate systolic blood pressure, while keeping diastolic blood pressure normal. This is known as atherosclerosis.

Renal Artery Stenosis

• A pre-existing condition that can cause a rise in blood pressure, including systolic pressure, is renal artery stenosis. This involves the narrowing of an artery caused by a buildup of toxin deposits. The condition is fixed by performing an angioplasty.

Aldosterone

• Another common pre-existing condition that results in high systolic pressure is abnormal concentrations of the hormone aldosterone. This can cause the body to retain too much sodium, while losing too much potassium, oftentimes resulting in high blood pressure.