Hypertension is so common that almost everybody is affected at some point.
High
blood pressure, also called hypertension, means the pressure in your
arteries is higher than it should be.
Blood
pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the
arteries as the heart pumps blood. If this pressure remains
consistently high, it can cause many complications in the body. Left
untreated, high blood pressure can lead to health problems such as
heart disease, stroke,
kidney failure, and more.
What Is Considered High Blood Pressure?
If
your doctor consistently reads your blood pressure as 140/90 mmHg
(millimeters of mercury) or higher, you will most likely be diagnosed
with high blood pressure.
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Prevalence Hypertension is a very common condition, in both developing countries and industrialized nations. In fact, according to the American Heart Association, more than 76 million Americans over age 20 — or 1 in 3 adults — have high blood pressure.
Risk Factors
The
following can increase your chances for developing high blood
pressure:
Older
age: The
risk of high blood pressure increases as you age.
High
blood pressure is more common in men who are 45 years of age and
older, while women are more likely to develop the condition after age
65.
Race: High
blood pressure is more common in African-American adults than in
Caucasian or Hispanic-American adults.
African-Americans
tend to develop hypertension earlier in life and often experience
more severe cases that lead to serious complications, such as stroke,
heart attack, and kidney failure.
Family
history: Having
a family history of high blood pressure can also increase your risk,
as the condition tends to run in families.
Being
overweight: The
more you weigh, the more blood you need to supply oxygen and
nutrients to your tissues.
As
the volume of blood circulated through your blood vessels increases,
so does the pressure on your artery walls. Obesity,
especially abdominal obesity — also increases stiffness in
arteries, which increases blood pressure.
Sedentary
lifestyle: Being
inactive is often linked to factors that can increase your heart
rate, such as obesity and type
2 diabetes.
And
the higher your heart rate is, the harder your heart has to work.
Tobacco
use: When
you smoke or chew tobacco, your blood pressure rises temporarily.
Moreover, chemicals
in tobacco can
damage the lining of your artery walls, which can cause your arteries
to narrow, increasing your blood pressure.
Dietary
choices: What
you choose to eat (and not to eat) can increase your risk for
hypertension, including the following:
- Too much salt (sodium) can cause your body to retain fluid, which increases blood pressure.
- Since potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells, not getting enough potassium can lead to too much sodium in your blood.
- While studies are limited, vitamin D may affect an enzyme produced by your kidneys that affects your blood pressure, so having too little could be harmful.
Alcohol
consumption: Drinking
more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink a day for
women may affect your blood pressure.
Stress: Being
under intense stress can lead to a temporary increase in blood
pressure.
Moreover,
if you try to cope with stress by overeating, using tobacco, or
drinking alcohol, all these can contribute to your high blood
pressure.
Chronic
conditions: Having
kidney disease, sleep apnea, or diabetes can affect blood pressure.
Pregnancy: Being
pregnant can cause an increase in blood pressure.
Birth
control: Women
who take birth control pills are at greater risk of developing high
blood pressure.
Children and High Blood Pressure
While
most common in adults, hypertension is becoming more common in
children and teens. Kidney or heart problems can cause high blood
pressure in kids, but so can lifestyle habits, such as poor diet,
obesity, and not exercising. Children who are African-American and
Mexican-American are more likely to have high blood pressure than
Caucasian children.
Moreover,
boys are at higher risk than girls.
Complications
If
left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to the following:
- Kidney failure
- Peripheral arterial disease
- Retinal problems (retinopathy)
By Cathy Cassata, Medically Reviewed by Sanjai Sinha, MD
http://www.everydayhealth.com/high-blood-pressure/
