by Doctors refer to high blood pressure as hypertension, and it is a very common health problem globally. It is mainly called the “silent killer” as early symptoms are not always clear, but it can cause severe health complications such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and eye problems. Understanding why high blood pressure occurs helps you prevent and manage it more effectively. Certain things, such as habits, medical conditions, and genetic reasons, can allow cancer to affect you.
Unhealthy Diet (Especially High Salt Intake)
High blood pressure is often caused by diet, especially when there is a lot of salt or sodium in the meals. Drinking too much salt causes your body to hang onto more water so that your blood has less sodium. Because of the extra fluid, there’s increased pressure in your blood vessels which makes your heart work harder. Often, processed and fast foods hide large amounts of salt and some apparently healthy packaged foods have more sodium than you might think. A diet missing potassium, magnesium and fiber can further raise blood pressure. Potassium plays a role in balancing your blood’s sodium levels and in maintaining normal health of your blood vessels. A diet filled with fried food, saturated fats, red meat and sugary drinks leads to inflammation and makes the arteries rigid which raises the risk of hypertension.
Lack of Physical Activity
Living a sedentary lifestyle is also a big factor in the development of high blood pressure. A lack of regular exercise leads to your heart and circulatory system working less efficiently. As a result, the heart must work extra hard to pump blood which increases the pressure in your arteries. Extra weight and insulin resistance which are linked to raised blood pressure, often result from being inactive. In addition, regular exercise leads to flexible and responsive blood vessels, so blood can flow more freely in the body. Lack of exercise can lead your blood vessels to harden which increases resistance and brings up your blood pressure even while resting.
Obesity and Being Overweight
Being overweight or obese greatly increases the chance of getting high blood pressure. Being overweight means your body has to work harder to get enough blood to supply extra tissue. This makes your heart circulate more blood which in turn forces harder on your artery walls. Fat cells also produce substances that can lower blood vessel health and raise chronic inflammation. These adjustments inside the arteries make them less flexible and more likely to thin out which increases blood pressure. Beyond making hypertension more likely, obesity is also linked to sleep apnea and diabetes which are additional risk factors.
Excessive Alcohol Consumption
Moderate alcohol drinking may be safe for health, yet regularly or excessively drinking it can increase your blood pressure a lot. Drinking alcohol leads hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to be released, making blood vessels narrow and causing your heart to beat faster which raises your blood pressure. With regular alcohol consumption, blood pressure can become and stay higher. Sometimes, extra calories in fast food stop medications from working properly and this can lead to weight gain. Drinking a lot may damage the liver and kidneys which are important for controlling blood pressure.
Smoking and Tobacco Use
Smoking, no matter if you are doing it or being near cigarette smoke, affects blood pressure both in the short and long run. Taking a single puff of a cigarette makes your blood vessels shrink which raises your blood pressure. After prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke, the walls of your arteries get damaged and start to harden and narrow which is known as atherosclerosis. Narrow blood vessels make it harder for blood to move freely which raises the pressure on the walls of the vessels. Sharply lowering your blood’s oxygen content because of smoking raises your heartbeat and increases its efforts, leading to more fatigue to the heart. Just being near someone smoking secondhand smoke can result in these problems, mostly for people with existing heart-related concerns.
Chronic Stress
Many people do not realize that stress can be a major reason for high blood pressure. A surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, comes out of your body when you are under emotional or psychological stress all the time. Hormones in your body support a rapid “fight or flight” response by quickly raising your heart rate and narrowing your blood vessels which results in a temporary increase in blood pressure. When stress stays constant, the short-term elevations may become longer-lived complications. Many people who are stressed tend to use harmful methods such as eating too much, smoking or drinking which make high blood pressure worse. Also, ongoing stress can interrupt sleep and harm other body functions which raises the likelihood of hypertension.
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Genetics and Family History
Genetic factors are very important in deciding your chances for getting high blood pressure. If hypertension runs in your family, you are much more likely to develop it too. Some genes received over the generations can change how salt is regulated, how your kidneys grow or how your blood vessels react to hormones. Since your genes cannot change, learning about them can encourage you to take care of your health sooner and get regular health check-ups. Anyone in a family with a link to high blood pressure should watch their food, manage their stress and keep up with physical activity.
Aging
Risk of high blood pressure increases as you become older. This is usually because natural aging reduces the ability of your blood vessels to stretch. A stiffening of the arteries means the heart must exert more force to deliver blood which can result in higher blood pressure. Aging can lower certain hormones and impact kidney health which may also lead to higher blood pressure. Other medical issues older adults may develop such as diabetes and buildup of plaque in arteries, are more common and lead to a greater chance of having a brain aneurysm.
Sleep Disorders Like Sleep Apnea
Since healthy sleep is important for all body functions, problems such as sleep apnea can make high blood pressure more common. During sleep apnea, your breathing frequently pauses and then restarts several times during sleep. Broken breathing reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood, leading the body to react with stress. As a result of such a response, your blood vessels narrow, your heart beats faster and this increases your blood pressure. If treatment is not given, sleep apnea may lead to ongoing hypertension, mainly at night when the body is supposed to relax and recover. Dealing with sleep apnea helps people sleep better and may result in a major drop in blood pressure.
Underlying Medical Conditions
Some patients develop secondary hypertension because of chronic medical problems. Because the kidneys cannot balance fluid and sodium in the blood properly due to damage, kidney disease is a leading reason for developing high blood pressure. Conditions of the thyroid such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can alter heart rate and the quality of your heartbeat which can contribute to blood pressure changes. Hormones released by adrenal tumors or Cushing’s syndrome may cause the kidneys to hold on to salt and water which boosts blood pressure. In some cases, structural issues of the heart such as narrowed arteries since birth, can raise the pressure in the cardiovascular system.
Medications and Drug Use
Taking certain prescription medications or using some street drugs may raise blood pressure. Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are often come over the counter, can lead to fluid retention and influence kidney function, resulting in high blood pressure. The decongestants in these medications reduce vessel diameter, which raises blood pressure. Some oral contraceptives and hormonal medications may increase or decrease blood pressure. Also, cocaine and amphetamine abuse can lead to high blood pressure by confusing the nerves and damaging the arteries.
Bottom Line
A number of things, including your habits, medical conditions, genes, and getting older, can lead to high blood pressure. Some causes cannot be changed, but some important ones are linked to the way we eat, our activity level, how much we drink, and our approaches to stress. Fortunately, by knowing these causes, you can take actions to control or manage your blood pressure. Keeping up with regular check-ups, living a heart-healthy lif,e and managing high blood pressure quickly can go a long way in keeping you healthy and preventing major problems from uncontrolled high blood pressure.
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