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Risk Factors of High Blood Pressure
Most risk factors of high blood pressure can be controlled but there are some that you can do little about.
To win the battle against high blood pressure, you must be aware of both controllable and uncontrollable risk factors.
Some risk factors of hypertension are simply part of your
physical make up and cannot be altered. These, however, form only a small proportion of the overall risk factors of high blood pressure.
Fortunately, many risk factors can be minimized or completely eliminated. First let us look at those that cannot be changed.
Risk Factors of High Blood Pressure that CANNOT be changed
High blood pressure is certainly not an equal opportunity disease. There are definitely certain groups of people that are at greater risk of developing hypertension. Risk factors that put some groups of people at greater risk of high blood pressure, include:
- Genetics - This is one of main uncontrollable risk factors of high
blood pressure. Persons whose parents have or had high blood pressure are
at greater risk of developing this disease. If one of your parents is
affected by high blood pressure, you have a 25% chance of developing the
disease. If both parents suffer from hypertension, your odds increase to
50%. The risk increases if both parents or if a parent and a sibling have
hypertension. Persons who develop hypertension before the age of fifty,
are almost 4 times more likely to have a family history of the disease.
- Race - Similar to genetics, race is another one of the chief
uncontrollable risk factors of high blood pressure. Of all races, persons of African descent are at greater risk
of developing high blood pressure. This disease affects approximately 33%
of persons of African descent, compared to 25% of Caucasians. It also tends to
occur at a younger age in persons of African descent, with more serious effects.
In fact, the hypertension death rate among persons of African descent is close to
45% compared to 13% for Caucasians.
- Gender - Gender is one of those risk factors of high blood pressure
that is closely
associated to age. Males under the age of sixty are at greater risk of
developing hypertension, than females of similar age.
After age sixty, however, the risk is reversed... meaning that women over sixty years old are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure than males of similar age.
It should be noted, however, that at all age levels, females with hypertension
seem to fare better than their male counterparts. They suffer from fewer
cardiovascular and other problems associated with high blood pressure.
- Age - Your risk of developing high blood pressure increases with age.
Statistics show that approximately 50% of adults over the age of sixty, and
almost 80% over the age of seventy, have hypertension. The most likely
cause of this is age-related atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a
degenerative disease of the arteries associated with fatty deposits on the inner
walls, leading to reduced blood flow. Other risk factors of high blood
pressure in older persons can also be as a result of being overweight,
inactivity (lack of exercise), poor nutrition, and general decrease in kidney
function.
Risk Factors of High Blood Pressure that CAN be changed
If you happen to fall within any of the groups above, pay special attention. By understanding and eliminating the risk
factors that can be changed or controlled, you can minimize your risk of
developing hypertension and make a big difference to your health. Here are
some of the risk factors of high blood pressure that you have some control over and, with some effort,
can change.
-
Obesity is one of the chief risk factors of hypertension. Each pound of extra fat requires lots more blood vessels to serve it. All of these added blood vessels
increase peripheral resistance and blood pressure. Additionally, just carrying around extra weight also increases the workload on the heart... leading to
cardiovascular diseases.
- Inactivity or lack of exercise ranks highly among the
controllable risk factors of high blood pressure. Many of us
sit for long hours at our work desks and then when we get home we sit on the
couch to look at television. This is not good for our health.
Aerobic exercises
help to reduce hypertension by controlling weight, reducing emotional tension,
and stimulating vasodilation (widening of blood vessels).
- Dietary factors are significant contributors to hypertension. Due to
demanding lifestyles, many of us do not take the time to prepare nutritious
meals. Instead, we settle for foods that are convenient, but
have very little nutrients. Diets high in sodium, cholesterol, saturated fats,
trans fatty acids, refined carbohydrates, sugar, and possibly caffeine are major
contributors to high blood pressure. They cause fatty deposits to build up on
the inner walls of the arteries, reducing blood flow. Additional pressure is
also placed on the kidneys and other vital organs, to regulate and eliminate excess salt
and sugar.
- Nicotine (found in tobacco) is another devastating contributor to
hypertension. It stimulates the heart to beat faster and harder; it causes
narrowing of blood vessels due to muscular constriction and thus increases blood
pressure. This can lead to serious heart problems.
- Alcohol abuse is another one of the controllable risk factors of
high blood pressure. Excessive alcohol consumption can increase blood
pressure. If you have hypertension or fall within the uncontrollable
risk factors of
high blood pressure, you should eliminate alcohol completely. Some people can
tolerate small amounts occasionally without adverse effects, but you
must avoid the temptation to over-indulge. Persons who are not hypertensive should limit daily consumption of alcohol to 24 ounces of beer,
or 10 ounces of wine, or
2 ounces of hard liquor.
- Drug use can increase blood pressure. Certain kinds of
prescription, over-the-counter drugs and illegal (recreational) drugs can
cause blood pressure to increase. If you are on any prescription or non
prescription drugs, ask your doctor if they might be increasing your blood
pressure. Avoid illegal drugs at all cost.
-
Emotional stress can elevate blood pressure. If you are prone
to emotional stress you should exercise regularly, set aside time to relax,
and participate in other stress reducing activities. This is vitally
important for lowering high blood pressure and maintaining mental health.
Secondary hypertension may or may not be included among the controllable risk
factors of high
blood pressure. Secondary hypertension results from another condition or
disease. The successful elimination or reduction of this risk factor is
dependent on the successful treatment of the primary disease or condition that
caused it.
The first step to controlling hypertension is to concentrate on eliminating
or reducing the controllable risk factors of high blood pressure. Consider
each of the risk factors that can be changed and ask yourself if you are doing
enough to eliminate or reduce them. If you take steps to eliminate or
reduce controllable risk factors, you
will significantly reduce your risk of developing this dreadful disease, even if
you may fall within the risk factors that cannot be changed.
If you are doing all that you can to eliminate controllable risk factors and your blood pressure is still high, you may need prescription medication or alternative medication.
If you prefer to use the conventional route, your doctor can prescribe a suitable prescription drug.
Some prescription medications, however, can cause side effects. This is one advantage of alternative products, over conventional prescription medicines. Some alternative products have been very effective in lowering blood pressure without
causing the side effects of conventional medicines.
Whether you decide to use prescription medication or alternative products,
you should first try to eliminate controllable risk factors of high blood
pressure. If you eliminate these risk factors you will find that your
blood pressure will be reduced, and you will make a big difference to your
health. You may also be less dependent on prescription and other
medicines.
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