By Korin Miller, Self
If you're not entirely sure what causes high blood pressure, we're about to go over a few reasons why you should. High blood pressure
(aka hypertension) is a lot more common than you think: One in three
American adults struggles with the condition, according to data from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and only about half of them have it under control. And given that
hypertension often has no warning signs or symptoms but is linked to
heart disease and stroke—two
of the leading causes of death in the U.S.—it's important to actually
be aware of your blood pressure and any risk factors for hypertension.
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In
case you’re not familiar with how it works, your blood pressure is the
pressure of blood in your circulatory system. High blood pressure is
when the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your blood
vessels is consistently too high, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
“People
call it the silent killer because you don’t necessarily feel poorly,
but in the background it’s causing increased pressure on your blood
vessels, causing damage over time,” Nicole Weinberg, M.D., a
cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica,
California, tells SELF. And, again, that can lead to serious and
potentially deadly health conditions.
It’s possible to have hypertension and have no idea, which is why it’s so crucial that you know the risk factors for the condition and how they apply to you.
Some of these risk factors are
modifiable (meaning, you can do something about it) while others are
not. But regardless, it's important to be aware of these risk factors
and discuss them with your doctor.
Here are the biggest modifiable risk factors to have on your radar:
Being overweight or obese:
This is one of the biggest risk factors for hypertension, especially in
younger people, Marc Leavey, M.D., an internist at Baltimore's Mercy
Medical Center, tells SELF. That's because excess body fat puts a strain
on your heart, which can cause your blood pressure to rise, explains
Dr. Weinberg. The good news is that losing weight (even just a little
bit) can often lower your blood pressure, according to the AHA.
[post_ads_2]Eating a diet high in sodium, calories, saturated fat, and sugar:
According to the AHA,
this type of diet can increase your risk of developing high blood
pressure. The good news is that adjusting your diet is often helpful in
lowering your blood pressure. So regardless of whether or not you're at
risk for high blood pressure, it's a good idea to keep an eye on your salt and sugar intake and aim to eat minimally processed foods whenever possible.
Having too much alcohol on the regular:
Drinking in excess is bad for you for a number of reasons, but you can
add an increased risk of high blood pressure to the mix. Regular, heavy
use of alcohol can cause your blood pressure to increase, according to
the AHA.
Not getting enough exercise:
Regularly getting up and moving
is good for you and your overall health, and it can also help keep your
blood pressure in check. But not exercising often or at all increases
your risk of high blood pressure, Dr. Weinberg says. Make it a point to
get the AHA’s recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or
75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise. It will do your blood
pressure, and overall health, some serious good.
Living with chronic stress:
You may have heard that stress can raise your blood pressure temporarily, which it can when you’re frazzled, but Dr. Weinberg says that chronic stress
is really something to worry about when it comes to your blood
pressure. “A lot of time when people have stress, that elevates their
blood pressure for that moment in time,” she says. “But if you stress
all the time, that’s building up issues in your blood vessels.”
Of
course, there are also risk factors that you can't really do anything
about. However, experts say that maintaining a healthy weight, eating a
balanced diet, and taking medication can help with these risk factors:
[post_ads_2]A family history of high blood pressure:
Unfortunately, if high blood pressure runs in your family, you’re at an
increased risk of developing it, too. Obviously, you can’t help your
genetics, but Dr. Leavey points out that environmental issues within
your family, like poor dietary choices and lack of exercise, could
contribute to this as well.
Your age:
Getting older is great, but unfortunately the older you are, the higher
your risk of developing high blood pressure. As you get older, your
blood vessels become less elastic, which can increase your blood
pressure, Dr. Weinberg explains. Clearly, you can’t help this factor,
but you can take other blood pressure-friendly steps to help modify your
risk.
Your race:
African American men and women are more likely to develop high blood
pressure than people of any other race in the U.S., according to the
AHA.
Your gender:
Men are more likely to have high blood pressure than women until the
age of 45, but women are more likely to have high blood pressure from 65
and up, according to the AHA. (From age 45 to 64, the risk is equal.)
