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	What is Hypertension?
—	Normal Blood Pressure
—	Causes of High Blood Pressure
—	Family History and Hypertension
—	Women and High Blood Pressure
—	Health Issues of Hypertension
—	Hypertension in Children and Teenagers
	Controlling High Blood Pressure
	Hypertension Treatment

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Causes and Effects of High Blood Pressure

Only five percent of patients have "secondary hypertension." The causes of secondary hypertension are clearly identifiable. Treating the primary cause successfully usually resolves secondary hypertension.

Conditions that contribute to secondary hypertension include kidney disease, tumors of the adrenal gland, heart or lung disease, liver disease, and hereditary narrowing of the aorta (the main blood vessel leading away from the heart).

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Causes of Essential Hypertension

Up to 95 percent of high blood pressure patients suffer from what doctors call "essential hypertension," meaning that no identifiable cause can be found for the rise in blood pressure. Environment and lifestyle are thought to be major contributors to the development of essential hypertension.

Essential hypertension is a complex problem because there is no obvious reason why the blood pressure is so high. Patients and doctors have to do some detective work to locate possible causes of high blood pressure. Here are some of the more common causes of high blood pressure:

Sedentary Lifestyle: Exercise helps maintain normal blood pressure, but few people get the amount of exercise they should to stay healthy.
Smoking: That cigarette may relax a smoker, but it raises blood pressure, making the heart labor to maintain blood flow.
Weight Gains: Extra weight increases blood pressure. Losing a few pounds is often the patient's first goal after being diagnosed with high blood pressure.
Diet: Fats, cholesterol-rich foods and salt can all raise blood pressure.
Alcohol: Heavy alcohol consumption has been linked to hypertension.
Stress: Although stress is clearly related to elevated blood pressure, pinning down the cause of the stress may be difficult. What's stressful for one person may be relaxing for another. Determining stress sources and stress levels requires you to take a long, hard look at how you live your life.

Many of these risk factors are under our direct control.

Genetics, ethnicity and gender play a role, although that role can be hard to define. Did Dad have high blood pressure because of genetics, or because he had high stress, ate fatty foods, and smoked?

To make matters more complicated, many of the risk factors vary from individual to individual. Some people thrive under stress levels that would cripple others. People react to different foods in different ways: While researchers are certain that fat- and cholesterol-rich foods contribute to high blood pressure, other elements in our diets may also play as yet undefined roles.

Society's to Blame!

Well, maybe not to blame, but a much higher incidence of hypertension existsin Western society than in other cultures. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, as many as 25 percent of adult Americans suffer from high blood pressure.

Studies done in Africa examined Africans' blood pressure before and after entering a big city and adopting Western lifestyles. Blood pressure usually rose after the move to the city.

Rural Africans rarely suffer from hypertension. This is of interest to researchers because, as a group, African Americans are at a greater risk to hypertension than white Americans. Culture, diet and stress all contribute to hypertension.

White Coat Hypertension

For many people, the mere sight of a doctor and a blood pressure cuff is enough to send their normal blood pressure soaring. The result can be a temporary high blood pressure reading that is much higher than the patient's normal state. Some patients just tense up when they see the doctor — hence the term white coat hypertension. If you and your doctor suspect your blood pressure rises just by visiting the medical clinic, the doctor might use a special blood pressure cuff that can take and record measurements while you're at home.

Resources

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. (nd). High blood pressure. NHLBI Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure.

Pickering, T. (nd) What is essential hypertension and where does it come from?

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