Risk Factors for High Blood Pressure

Age

Being over 45 for males, and 55 for females increases your risk of high blood pressure. This is due to range of things that change as we age. One of the most important is that our arteries become less flexible with age. This means that they cannot expand so easily, so it is like forcing the same volume of fluid through a narrower pipe. This results in an increase in pressure.

Alcohol

Regular, sustained consumption of more than moderate amounts of alcohol raises blood pressure.

Diabetes

Having diabetes increases your risk of getting high blood pressure.

High cholesterol

If you have high cholesterol you are more likely to get blockage of arteries. The development of plaque in your arteries can make the arteries narrower and less elastic. In addition to potentially giving you a heart attack.

Heredity

If your parents and other close relatives have/had high blood pressure you have an increased likelihood of developing high blood pressure.

High salt diet

Many people (but not all) have salt-sensitive high blood pressure. A diet that is high in sodium will increase blood pressure, whereas following a diet that is low in sodium will decrease blood pressure. The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a diet developed at National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (National Institutes of Health) that is low in sodium and high in heart healthy foods.

Lack of exercise

Those, who do very little or no exercise, are at a higher risk of getting high blood pressure. Interestingly for most people with normal or slightly elevated blood pressure, frequent moderate intensity exercise will after a period of time lower blood pressure.

Overweight

People who have body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater are more likely to develop high blood pressure.

Poor diet

Poor diet can both directly, and indirectly, increase your risk for high blood pressure. In addition to a high salt diet increasing your risk of high blood pressure, a diet that is low in calcium, potassium and magnesium can increase blood pressure. Diets high in “bad” fat have not been shown to directly affect blood pressure but do have negative effects on the heart and arteries, which, as stated above, can affect blood pressure indirectly.

Race

African Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure than other ethnic groups, and are more likely to do so at an earlier age.

Smoking

Blood pressure goes up significantly every time you smoke.

Stress

Those under a lot of stress will increase their blood pressure.

Kidney disease, and problems with the angiotensin-renin-aldosterone hormone system

The kidney and the angiotensin-renin-aldosterone hormone system play a role regulation of fluid levels in the body and constriction of blood vessels. Therefore, some kidney diseases and/or a malfunctioning angiotensin-renin-aldosterone system can increase blood pressure. Generally this can occur by an increase of amount of fluid in the body causing an increase in blood volume and hence increasing blood pressure, and/or constriction of blood vessels making them narrower (changing from a wide bore pipe to a narrower pipe) which results in increased blood pressure.