Hypertension Causes
There are many factors that can contribute towards hypertension. At times the cause can be found but sometimes no particular cause can be found with certainty, like essential hypertension has no known cause. It is possible that there may be more than one factor(s) causing high blood pressure. It is thought that essential hypertension is usually of genetic origin and is untreatable. This is as of today but as the research goes on, the cause and treatment of essential hypertension may be found one day. Common causes of hypertension are:- Condition of the arteries: With age, the arteries tend to lose their flexibility, become comparatively rigid and fail to support the required expansion during a systole. Effective internal diameter may reduce due to some reason. High cholesterol level is one of the causes of this reduction.
- Sudden emotional disturbance: At times the blood pressure may suddenly shoot up due to sudden and serious emotional disturbance as in case of a shocking news. In such cases, the blood pressure may return to normal as the person becomes emotionally calm. Such person may not be called hypertensive.
- Continued mental stress can gradually make a person hypertensive even without other related factors.
- Excessive intake of salt
- Dysfunction of the kidneys
- Hormonal imbalance in the body
- Inherited predisposition. In some families high blood pressure has been found to run for no apparent cause.
- Obesity (Weight loss)
- Excessive use of medicines or side effects of some medicines may raise the blood pressure.
- Dietary habits. Certain food items and fat-rich diet can raise the blood pressure, specially if the use is continuous or prolonged.
- Lack of exercise, insufficient physical activity.
In my opinion, reduced flexibility of arteries is not due to aging alone. There are other reasons for it but those are not recognized by modern medical science. It is a gradual process and can occur even before 40 years of age.
