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Understanding the Primary Causes of High Blood Pressure
Having an understanding of the primary causes of high blood pressure is a major step towards effective treatment. With hypertension, the heart is often or always working harder than normal and the arteries are narrowed and constricted. Hypertension is one of the major underlying causes of kidney failure. In order to minimize your risk of kidney failure and other serious conditions, avoid the primary causes of high blood pressure outlined below.Blood pressure is determined by three main factors - blood volume or cardiac output, the resistance offered by the blood vessels, and the thickness (viscosity) of the blood. The cardiac output or blood volume is known as the systolic blood pressure, or the force (pressure) exerted when the heart contracts. The resistance of the blood vessels as blood is pumped through them is known as the diastolic blood pressure. This is the pressures exerted when the heart is resting between beats.
What are the Primary Causes of High Blood Pressure? Many factors can send your heart into overdrive as a result of high blood pressure. Some of these factors include: -
Narrowed arteries. Arteries may become narrow for a number of reasons. These include plaque buildup, fibrosis (formation of thickened connective tissue or scar tissue), endothelial dysfunction (dysfunction of the inner walls of the arteries), or in response to your endocrine or nervous systems. When your arteries are narrow, your heart has to work harder to push the blood through them. -
Obesity, or being overweight. Within the last decade or so, obesity has become a major health issue, plaguing developed western societies. Excess fat is a major risk factor and one of the prime causes of high blood pressure. Fat is tissue, just like muscles or organs. Tissue requires a constant blood supply and therefore, has a lot of blood vessels. It is estimated that one pound of fat contains about one mile of capillaries. That requires a lot of extra blood and a lot of extra pipes to pump the blood through. This increases the load on the heart, requiring it to work much harder to pump blood around the body, and causes high blood pressure. In many cases, just losing ten to twenty pounds can bring blood pressure down to normal levels. -
High cholesterol and sodium diet. With the fast paste and demands of modern society, many people turn to fast food and microwave dishes as their main source of meals. Although these dishes are convenient and tasty, they are not always the most healthy or nutritious. They are loaded with cholesterols and sodium. This is a major contributor to obesity and possibly one of the leading causes of high blood pressure. Cholesterols contribute to the build up of plaque in the arteries... causing them to become narrow. As outlined above, narrowed arteries causes the heart to work harder to pump the blood through them and is considered one of the leading causes of high blood pressure and heart failure. Sodium draws water from the kidneys back into the body, causing fluid retention. Excess sodium can also lead to increases in blood pressure by increasing blood volume... leading to enlargement of the heart, protein in the urine, kidney disease, and strokes. If you consume a lot of high cholesterol, high sodium diet (as is typical of most fast foods), you should do your best to cut back or cut them out from your diet. If you follow a balanced healthy diet, the occasional indulgence will not hurt. -
Smoking. The dangers of smoking have been highlighted in the media and many other forums. Apart form the risk of cancer and other diseases that can be caused by smoking, it is also one of the causes of high blood pressure. Smoking cigarettes causes the heart rate to increase by increasing tension in the walls of the heart muscle and speeding the rate of muscular contraction. It crowds out oxygen with carbon dioxide... decreasing oxygen per unit of blood. This means that you will need more blood to deliver the same amount of oxygen. This forces your heart to work harder to deliver enough oxygen to the tissues... resulting in high blood pressure. -
Emotional stress and psychological factors. Anxiety, excitement, fear, anger, and other forms of stress requires your body to respond with the "fight or flight" mechanism. The burst of adrenaline races to your major organs, increasing your heat rate, blood cholesterol, and blood pressure. People who display aggressive, hostile, or cynical behaviors tend to have increased heart rates and higher cardiac output, resulting in high blood pressure. -
Hormonal dysfunction. Several substances such as renin, angiotensin, endothelin, and many others play important roles in complex systems that regulate the cardiac output. When these regulators are not working properly, the blood volume increases, creating more work for the heart, and increases blood pressure. -
Blood clot and thick blood. While blood clots are probably not considered as one of the leading causes of high blood pressure, it is should be noted. Plaque build up in some arteries can sometimes cause blood platelets to get stuck on protruding pieces of plaque, forming a blood clot (thrombus). Or the plaque itself can rupture, releasing clotting substances that instantly cause formation of a blood clot. Blood clots can severely limit the flow of blood through an artery or even block it completely... resulting in high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. The thickness of the blood is another important factor that determines resistance and blood pressure. Thick blood, like sludge, moves more slowly through blood vessels, requiring more force to send it along. There are other causes of high blood pressure, such as pregnancy and physical stress, but these are usually temporary. Additionally, there are medical conditions that can cause secondary hypertension. Examples of such conditions include Cushing's syndrome (a metabolic disorder resulting in excessive production of the steroid hormone cortisol), Hyperparathyroidism (too much parathyroid hormone), Thyroid disease, Sleep apnea (temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep), and Kidney disease. Fortunately, most of these causes of high blood pressure can be treated either naturally or with medication. Once the underlying causes of high blood pressure are corrected, and a health lifestyle is adopted, blood pressure returns to normal.
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