Your blood pressure is an important gauge of your overall health. Your blood pressure can be too low, called hypotension, or too high, called hypertension. Either condition can dangerous, but hypotension is rare except as a symptom of another health problem. Hypertension, on the other hand, is very common. It affects nearly a billion people worldwide and the incidence is increasing.
Here, you can learn about the causes, symptoms and health problems associated with hypertension.
Causes
There are many things that are known to raise your blood pressure. Salt is one of those things. Salt contains sodium, which is an essential nutrient, but many people get thousands of times more sodium than they need on a daily basis. Fluids follow sodium. When foods or beverages containing sodium are consumed, the sodium enters the bloodstream. It pulls sodium into the bloodstream causing blood volume to rise and the pressure exerted against the vascular walls to increase.
Excessive sodium consumption is one of the main causes of hypertension. Other causes and risk factors include the following:
· Genetics – a minor cause that is poorly understood
· Being overweight or obese
· Stress – causes only temporary increases in blood pressure
· Excessive caffeine consumption
· Excessive alcohol consumption
· Vitamin D deficiency
· Using tobacco products – smoking raises blood pressure
· Drug use
· Sleep apnea
· Lack of exercise
· Aging – the risk of hypertension increases with age
Certain herbs and foods such as licorice can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure, as can certain drugs. Hypertension may also occur during pregnancy and blood pressure is one of the things that are routinely checked during prenatal visits.
In many cases of hypertension, the cause is not a single one, but a combination of several factors mentioned above.
For example, many people who are obese also suffer from sleep apnea and sleep apnea seems to increase the risk of being overweight. People who have sleep apnea often have elevated pressure, as do people who are overweight or obese.
Symptoms
There are no symptoms, which is what makes hypertension so dangerous and has earned it the title “the silent killer”.
Associated Health Problems
Hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Peripheral vascular disease, which is caused by the obstruction of large arteries that are not coronary arteries, most often those that lead to the feet and legs, is another health problem associated with higher pressure.
Chronic hypertension increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly. Chronic kidney disease, nerve damage and eye diseases may also be caused by higher pressure.
While medication can be used to lower blood pressure, research indicates that those who are treated with medications for higher pressure actually have a higher incidence of heart disease. The higher incidence may not be due to the medication. But many doctors worldwide now suggest natural therapies and lifestyle changes to correct the problem before they resort to prescribing drugs. In my next article, you can learn about the things you do to keep your blood pressure normal.
Larry L. Taylor
