Factors that Can Cause High Blood Pressure

The following article includes pertinent information that may cause you to reconsider what you thought you understood. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary.

Think about what you've read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about high blood pressure factors? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs? 

You can't always pinpoint the causes of high blood pressure because of the number of things that can affect hypertensive behaviors in the body. But it is important to have it diagnosed because it can cause other more harmful problems. In many cases, knowing some of the possible causes of high blood pressure, such as the ones we'll be covering below, can allow you to make helpful changes in your lifestyle.

One risk factor for high blood pressure is simply aging. On average, men are more likely to develop it at an earlier age, while it often begins in menopause with women.

Hypertension is something that anyone can have, though, especially if you have risk factors such as being overweight. So everyone should have their blood pressure measured regularly, but it's especially important if you are forty or above. Your age, of course, is only one risk factor for high blood pressure, and you have to consider your everyday habits as well.

One problem with high blood pressure is that, in many cases, there is no known cause. High blood pressure with no known cause is called essential hypertension, and the majority of cases actually fit into this category.

Even without knowing the exact cause of high blood pressure, however, we do know that you can lower your risks by making many changes in your lifestyle. Checking your blood pressure with a reliable device is the only way to know if it's at a healthy or unhealthy level. Whether or not the cause of hypertension can be pinpointed, there are ways to treat and manage it.

High blood pressure is often associated with high cholesterol, and both of these can lead to heart disease and other serious health problems. When it comes to controlling your cholesterol, you have to know the difference between "good" and "bad" cholesterol. Atherosclerosis, or blockage of the arteries, as well as hypertension, can result from having high levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol.

The beneficial kind of cholesterol is HDL, and this does the opposite of LDL, and can help lower your blood pressure. You can increase the levels of good cholesterol in your body by getting more exercise and eating a healthy diet. Avoiding unhealthy foods, such as hydrogenated oils, processed foods and most fast foods can help you to reduce the bad cholesterol in your diet. If you focus on lowering your cholesterol, you will probably lower your blood pressure as well, and both are factors you have to watch for the sake of your health.

It can be helpful to understand the causes of high blood pressure, but even when you can't identify these, you can still take steps to reduce it. You should keep track of your blood pressure and ask your doctor for advice on how to control it. The causes and elements related to high blood pressure are varied, and we've only had room to cover a few of them. The main thing is to be committed to managing your high blood pressure, whether this means exercising more, changing your diet or reducing stress in your life.

If you've picked some pointers about high blood pressure factors that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won't really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don't use it.