What are the Causes of High Blood Pressure?

The causes of high blood pressure include too much salt consumption and cholesterol interrupting the flow of blood through the arteries. In some people, the causes of high blood pressure include the normal process of aging or genetics. A person’s elevated blood pressure level may also be due to a phenomenon known as white coat hypertension.

Too much salt in the diet is one of the most common causes of high blood pressure. Although most people use it every day to flavor food and it is added to several different beverages, salt can be a potentially dangerous spice. The human body relies on the sodium in salt to retain water in the blood and also help properly maintain the body’s fluid balance. When too much salt is present in the body, however, the amount of blood flow rises, which creates hypertension.

Cholesterol is also both good and bad for the body. As a necessary part of cell membranes, the body uses cholesterol to create hormones and vitamins. Too much of it, however, can build up on the walls of the arteries, which then causes the pathways that blood uses to pass through the arteries to narrow. Too much cholesterol is, therefore, among the most common causes of high blood pressure since it slows the passing of blood through the body and ultimately causes the pressure inside of the arteries to rise.

The aging process is also counted among the causes of high blood pressure in individuals. As a person ages, blood cells sometimes become damaged. When this occurs, there is a greater risk for a pigment, known as lipofuscin, to be deposited into the heart. These extra deposits cause healthy cells in the heart muscle to slowly deteriorate as the heart’s valves also thicken.

Genetics is one of the primary causes of high blood pressure in some individuals. A family history of hypertension automatically raises a person’s risk level for developing this condition, as do similar lifestyle factors, which lead to hypertension. Individuals who ignore their own risk factor for high blood pressure place themselves in danger of developing this potentially deadly condition.

For some individuals, one of the main causes of high blood pressure is due to a phenomenon known as white coat hypertension. People with this diagnosis will have normal blood pressure levels most of the time, but will test for high blood pressure when it is taken by a health care professional. While not everyone with this type of hypertension ever develops full hypertension, scientists believe it may be one of the leading causes of high blood pressure later in a person’s life.