Health Answers

There are a number of different high blood pressure causes. If you are like my mom and suffer from high blood pressure it’s a good idea to educate yourself about these causes.

High blood pressure is associated with some serious and potentially fatal conditions like heart disease and stroke, so you can never be too careful about it.

Eating too much salt can be a cause. Putting too much salt on our food is one thing, but also eating a lot of frozen, microwavable or pre-made dishes are also common ways people get too much sodium in their diet.

It’s a good idea to check the labels on what you’re buying to get an idea of how much sodium you’re putting in your body. Sometimes foods that don’t even taste very salty are nonetheless high in sodium, as salt isn’t the only chemical that introduces the element into your body.

Beyond sodium, an overall poor diet is a well-documented high blood pressure cause. Too much cholesterol and saturated fats, for example, can cause your arteries to become clogged, forcing you heart to work extra hard to get the blood through, which in turn raises your blood pressure.

An inactive lifestyle will also generally cause your heart to work extra hard and lead to higher blood pressure. That’s why my mom’s doctor told her to try to walk each day for awhile.

Another well-known high blood pressure cause is stress. A lot of focus is spent on the other high blood pressure causes and many people often overlook the mental and emotional aspects to it.

The body is all tied together; mental agitation and anxiety have a direct effect on your heart and circulation. Taking some steps to lower anxiety, like getting better sleep, reducing caffeine, and again getting more exercise, will therefore also help lower your blood pressure.

As scientists learn more about high blood pressure they are finding that genetics plays an important role. Genetics alone won’t cause high blood pressure, but it is behind all the other causes to some extent. In a nut shell, your genetic make up will determine how sensitive you are to the above mentioned high blood pressure causes.

With the right genes you can have a high fat and sodium diet, never exercise, drink loads of coffee and stress constantly yet still have a reasonably low blood pressure. With the wrong genes even a little too much salt may be enough to kick your blood pressure into a dangerous range.

My mom inherited poor genes from her mom and grandmother. All three of them got high blood pressure in their twenties. If you also have the wrong genes, the best thing you can do is have regular check-ups with your doctor, watch your diet, and follow whatever exercise program your doctor prescribes. It’s best to try to prevent high blood pressure than to learn how to live with it.

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