Are certain people more likely to have high blood pressure? The answer is yes, but many factors could be involved. One factor is simply being a man — high blood pressure affects men more than women. While all the causes of high blood pressure are not completely known, simply having high blood pressure for too long is definitely not a good thing. The following are well-known contributors to high blood pressure:
- Smoking
- A diet high in salty, fatty and processed foods
- Obesity
- Too much alcohol (more than one or two drinks daily)
- Aging
- Lack of physical activity
- A family history of high blood pressure
- Race (African-Americans are twice as likely to have high blood pressure as Caucasians)
- Stress
- Sleep apnea
- Chronic kidney disease (for example diabetes over time can cause injury to the kidneys)
- Adrenal, thyroid, and other disorders
In some cases, high blood pressure may be related to taking certain medications or having other health issues. This is called secondary hypertension.
Of course, you can’t control things like your gender, genetics, race or your age. But you’ll notice that most of the contributing factors are diet and lifestyle related that are within your control, which is great news for your health.