What is high blood pressure? High blood pressure or Hypertension happens when the blood pressure in your body is more than the normal. The normal blood pressure is 80/120Hg. It gets slightly up and down due to various activities and diet. However, if the blood pressure crosses 90/130 Hg, then it is considered as High blood pressure.
Causes of High Blood Pressure There are various causes of high blood pressure. Some of them are described below:
- Age: As the person gets old, chances of high blood pressure. People above 60 years are much likely to suffer from high blood pressure as the arteries get stiff and narrow.
- Weight and Size: Obesity or person not having a proper proportion of height and weight body balance is having more chances of suffering from high blood pressure.
- Alcohol: Consuming an excessive amount of alcohol increases the blood pressure in the body.
- Smoking Tobacco: Smoking, after a period of time, makes the arteries narrow and stiff. This results in high blood pressure.
- Sex: As per the research, men are more prone to hypertension in comparison to women.
The other factors including:
- Consuming a high amount of salty diets.
- Less potassium consumption
- Alcohol and tobacco as mentioned above.
- Diseases and medications
Some High Blood Pressure threats:
Hypertension or high blood pressure can be harmful after a period of time. Many times the high blood pressure remains undetected and continue to cause damage in the body. Here are some high blood pressure threats:
- Heart Attack: Arteries got damaged, blocked, which prevents the blood flow to the heart muscles and ultimately cause a heart attack.
- Stroke: High blood pressure can also cause blood vessels to get burst and clog which results in a stroke.
- Heart failure: Heart failure refers to the situation in which the heart gets enlarge and fail to supply to the body. High blood pressure can also cause heart failure.
- Kidney problem: When there is damage in the arteries nearby kidney due to the high BP, the kidneys are unable to filter blood properly.
- Loss of vision: It can also damage blood vessels in the eyes.
- Angina: After a period of time, high blood pressure can also lead to microvascular diseases or Angina.
- Peripheral Artery Disease: When the arteries get narrow in legs, arms, stomach, it can cause Peripheral Artery Disease, which can cause pain and fatigue.