What causes high blood pressure?
Here’s something that may surprise you: for nearly 90% of people with hypertension, the exact cause is unknown.
When this is the case, it’s called primary or essential hypertension. Some research has shown that heredity, or family history, plays an important role in primary hypertension.
For example, if your brother or sister has high blood pressure, you are more likely to have it, too. It’s also more common for certain ethnicities. Another factor is that family members tend to have similar lifestyle and eating habits, and unhealthy ones could contribute to high blood pressure.
What about stress?
A common myth is that stress or anxiety is a major cause. While it’s true that stressful situations can temporarily increase your blood pressure, there is no concrete proof that stress by itself causes continuing high blood pressure.
Causes of secondary hypertension
For the other 10% of people who have high blood pressure, there may be an underlying condition that causes it. In these cases, the high blood pressure is called secondary hypertension. In these cases, treating the underlying cause can often control the high blood pressure.
Causes of secondary hypertension can include:
- Renal (kidney) disorders
- Hormonal disorders
- Neurological conditions
- Drugs and chemicals, such as oral contraceptives, appetite suppressants, antidepressants, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents
- Miscellaneous causes, such as pregnancy and narrowing of the aorta
High blood pressure & other health conditions
Recent studies have shown a strong association between high blood pressure and other health conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, and hardening of the arteries. High blood pressure can complicate these conditions, making them much more severe.
In fact, high blood pressure affects up to 60% of people with diabetes. And people with both high blood pressure and diabetes have an increased risk of cardiovascular complications, such as heart disease.
If you have high blood pressure and other health conditions, talk to your doctor about what you can do to help manage and treat all of your conditions.
