What Causes High Blood Pressure – Hypertension
January 27th, 2009. Published under Health. No Comments.
I’m sure a lot of people in this world dont know what causes high blood pressure and hypertension. Hypertension is more common in blacks, and the risk increases with age. One-fourth of people in the United States between the ages of 20-74 have hypertension, and three-fourths of women and two-thirds of men over 75 have hypertension.
Blood pressure is described by two values:
- The highest pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts.
- The lowest pressure just before the heart contracts.
When you take your blood pressure look for certain numbers to inform you if your pressure is high or low. Blood pressure is considered high when the systolic pressure is above 140 and the diastolic pressure is above 90.
When a change in blood pressure occurs, the body has compensatory means of returning back to normal. These include changing the amount of blood that the heart pumps, controlling the diameter of the arteries, and changing the volume of blood in the bloodstream. The kidneys can also control blood pressure by excreting salt and water in the blood so that the blood volume decreases.
People who have hypertension, the increase in pressure may be due to a change in the heart and blood vessels or an increase in the blood volume. Other factors contributing to hypertension include an inherited abnormality, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, stress, smoking, excessive alcohol, and salt.
Most people with hypertension experience no symptons from hypertension itself, however, once damage has occurred to other organs as a result of hypertension like the brain, eyes, heart or the kidneys. Symptoms of those conditions may manifest themselves as headaches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, restlessness, and blurred vision. The higher the pressure, the more likely you are to experience a stroke, heart failure or early death.