Common Causes of High Blood Pressure

Finding out that you have high blood pressure can be a scary thing. But blood pressure is a very common problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one out of every three adults in America suffers from high blood pressure. There are steps you can take to lower your high blood pressure. Understanding how high blood pressure affects your heart and circulatory system can help you choose which of those steps you need to take. Remember, you should always consult a doctor before making any drastic changes to your lifestyle.

The Facts

• The National Heart and Blood Institute defines blood pressure as "the force of blood against the walls of arteries." To measure this, doctors use a tight cuff wrapped around the arm to find the blood pressure when the heart beats (called "systolic") and the blood pressure between beats ("diastolic"). This number is expressed as systolic pressure over diastolic pressure (for example, "120 over 80"). Typically, a patient's blood pressure is taken from an average of multiple readings over the course of time.

Effects of High Blood Pressure

• A blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher is considered to be "hypertension," or high blood pressure. There are many serious conditions that can result from hypertension. In the brain, it can cause a blood vessel to break, resulting in a stroke. In the circulatory system, high blood pressure can be the result of the heart having to increase its workload due to hardened arteries. Even kidneys can be damaged by hypertension and its effect on blood vessels. In some cases, a kidney transplant might become necessary.

Causes of High Blood Pressure

• There are many different reasons high blood pressure develops. One cause is old age. As we age, our arteries sometimes stiffen, causing the heart to work harder to push the blood, which leads to high blood pressure. High blood pressure can also be caused by other medical conditions, such as kidney and thyroid diseases, and even sleep apnea. In women, birth control medications or hormone medications may cause slightly higher blood pressure. In children, high blood pressure is usually a symptom of another underlying medical condition. Very often, doctors are unable to diagnose the exact cause of high blood pressure.

Lifestyle Causes and Prevention

• Since doctors are often unable to pinpoint the exact cause of a patient's hypertension, the focus is usually on minimizing effects, controlling symptoms and lowering the blood pressure, if possible. The National Heart and Blood Institute recommends lifestyle changes such as eating healthy, exercising, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol intake. Also, diets should minimize salt and sodium. Decreasing these will lower blood pressure and allow medications to perform better.

Considerations

• There are several other issues that a person with high blood pressure should be aware of. While foods high in fats do not cause high blood pressure, they do increase cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease. Caffeine, stress and smoking do not permanently raise blood pressure, though they do cause a temporary rise and should be avoided if possible.