Cause of High Blood Pressure

The most common cause of high blood pressure is a lifestyle that is less than optimum.

Everyday decisions affect blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to a variety of complications.

Obesity
Excess fat & cholesterol in the body is a cause of high blood pressure as fatty plaques adhere to the walls of the arteries impeding blood flow. The heart has to work harder to pump the blood, increasing the blood pressure.

High Salt Intake
Too much sodium in the body interferes with the potassium - sodium balance that is needed for all cells to function properly. Excess sodium causes the body to hold onto water, often causing edema or swelling.

When the kidneys have difficulty eliminating excess salt it can cause high blood pressure to help dispose of the salt.

Salt, or sodium chloride is commonly found in canned and packaged foods. Most people have no idea how much salt they are consuming every day.

Kidney dysfunction

Atherosclerosis
Narrowing & hardening of the arteries can be a cause of high blood pressure as more force is needed to transport necessary oxygen and nutrients to cells)

Dehydration
Blood is 92% water. A shortage of water in the body causes causes the blood to thicken, which increases blood pressure.

Lack of exercise
Regular aerobic exercise that works both the heart and the lungs tends to naturally lower blood pressure.

Smoking
Smoking can cause high blood pressure to remain elevated for as long as 30 minutes after one cigarette. Many smokers smoke several cigarettes in a day, continually elevating their blood pressure levels.

Caffeine
A cup of coffee per day can raise the diastolic and sysolic blood pressrure five to six points. When caffeine is consumed before or during exercise it can cause a significant rise of blood pressure above what exercise alone would produce. This can be dangerous, turning a healthy activity into an unhealthy one as the risk is increased for a cardiovascular event during exercise.

Alcohol
It is a surprise to many that alcohol raises blood pressure. Even moderate users of alcohol have a significantly incrased risk of stroke.

Stress
It is not so important what happens to or around us, but one’s reaction to these events of life can cause a rise in the systolic (top number) blood pressure.

Other factors that can cause high blood pressure

Secondary hypertension refers to high blood pressure that is being caused by some other problem in the body. For example, kidney disease or certain kinds of tumors can be a cause of high blood presure.

Some people have secondary hypertension as a side effect of a medication they are taking.

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