Who Is At Risk for High Blood Pressure?Risk Factors for Hypertension or High Blood Pressure There are a number of risk factors which put you at increased risk of developing hypertension. Some you can control – and some you can’t. If any of these factors affect you then it is very important that you take preventative steps. You should also get your blood pressure measured regularly to be sure. Remember high blood pressure usually has no symptoms until damage has occurred! Risk Factors You Cannot Control Race and Ethnicity While high blood pressure can develop in anybody, there are indications that HBP is more common among certain groups. For example, the incidence of high blood pressure among African American adults is higher than in Caucasians or Hispanics. In addition, African Americans are at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure at a younger age over Caucasians. Differences also exist among Hispanic populations. For example, Puerto Rican Americans generally show higher incidence of developing HBP than the rest of the Hispanic population and Caucasians combined. In turn, Cuban Americans actually show lower rates of high blood pressure than Caucasians. Heredity If any of your close relatives have high blood pressure then you are more likely to develop it too. If your parents have high blood pressure then you need to take preventative steps immediately. Gender Men are more at risk than women. But, ladies, don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet! Birth control pills and pregnancy are risk factors for Hypertension. Age Older people are more at risk. Doctors don’t know precisely why but they do know that if an older person takes steps to remain slim, active and healthy then they don’t have to develop high blood pressure .With aging, blood pressure generally tends to increase. Trends among men indicate that high blood pressure may develop around early middle age. In women, the risk of high blood pressure increases after menopause. While aging does not automatically result in developing high blood pressure, it may increase the risk. However, appropriate nutrition and physical activity can help maintain normal blood pressure. Risk Factors you can control Smoking One of the best things you can do for your overall health is to give up smoking! Obesity Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing high blood pressure among adults. Increased weight places a greater demand on blood to deliver nutrients to different parts of the body. This added demand requires more blood which increases the stress on the walls of the heart’s arteries. Weight problems are often caused by poor eating choices such as high consumption of alcohol or eating too much salt. Wiser eating choices among adults help curb weight gain and the added risk for HBP. Similarly, current trends among children indicate that being overweight or obese places them at an increased risk of developing HBP much earlier in life. Hypertension is just one of the conditions that you are more at risk from if you are obese. Salt intake This can be tricky to manage. Salt can easily be hidden in foods – especially convenience and pre-packaged ones. Check labels and do not add table salt. Inactivity You don’t have to join expensive gyms to get active – simply taking a fifteen minute walk twice a day can be enough. This is another area where the benefits extend beyond taking care of your blood pressure. Drinking excess alcohol This is dangerous for many reasons not just blood pressure. Other Factors Diabetes Unfortunately many cases of diabetes are caused by lifestyle factors. The same lifestyle factors which cause high blood pressure. In additions if you have diabetes then you are a greater risk of getting high blood pressure. Just to make matters worse having both high blood pressure and diabetes is very dangerous. So if you have diabetes then you must watch your blood pressure and take preventative steps to make sure it doesn’t get too high. On the bright side many of the steps to prevent hypertension will also help your diabetes. Pregnancy Pregnancy can cause high blood pressure – mostly it will disappear after delivery. But in the last trimester blood pressure can spike to dangerous levels and can be responsible for complications. There are a number of conditions and diseases that have high blood pressure as a symptom. There are also a number of medications that have high blood pressure as a side effect. If you have one of these conditions or take one of these medications then your doctor will be monitoring your blood pressure as part of your regular checkups. next... What are the Signs and Symptoms of High Blood Pressure |
