It is normal for your blood pressure to go up and down nok jpy exchange throughout the day. For example, your blood pressure might rise after a stressful event, smoking, or drinking alcohol. Ask your provider for a blood pressure reading at least every two years starting at age 18.

Secondary hypertension is less common, impacting around 10% of adults with high blood pressure. This type is directly caused by an underlying health condition, like kidney disease or sleep apnea, or taking medications, like certain painkillers or birth control pills. If you don’t have hypertension, check your blood pressure regularly, especially if you have a family history of the condition. Many people, including those with healthy habits, don’t know they have it. You can lower your risk by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Talk with a healthcare professional as soon as you think it may be a concern.

• The CDC reports that from 2017 to 2018, hypertension was more common in older adults.
• There are usually no symptoms, so you may not realise you have it.
• Some people might also need medication to control their blood pressure.
• High blood pressure can run in a family, and your risk for high blood pressure can increase based on your age and your race or ethnicity.

Conditions that can increase risk

A 2019 study found that moderately reducing your sodium intake could lower your blood pressure, whether you have hypertension. Exercising can help you maintain a moderate weight or lose weight if necessary. That can positively affect your blood pressure and give you more energy and a sense of well-being. NHS Better Health has free tools and support to help you lose weight, get active, quit smoking and drink less.

Complications of uncontrolled hypertension

When members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes, that process is called heredity. Sometimes, therapy involves taking two medications, each from a different category. Blood pressure naturally fluctuates throughout the day and can sometimes suddenly rise or “spike” due to certain causes, such as strong emotions or stress.

Tips to Manage Your Blood Pressure

Plaque buildup in the arteries, called atherosclerosis, increases the risk of high blood pressure. High blood pressure in children may be caused by problems with the kidneys or heart. But for a growing number of kids, high blood pressure is due to lifestyle habits such as an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.

Treating these conditions can often reverse hypertension. Family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments that can influence their health and their risk for disease. High blood pressure can run in a family, and your risk for high blood pressure can increase based on your age and your race or ethnicity. About 6 out of 10 of people who have diabetes also have high blood pressure.1 Diabetes causes sugars to build up in the blood and also increases the risk for heart disease. Healthy lifestyle habits —such as not smoking, exercising and eating well — can help prevent and treat high blood pressure. Most adults with hypertension have primary hypertension, meaning the condition exists on its own with no identifiable cause.

High blood pressure

The document also includes target blood pressure to be achieved for control, and information on who, in the health-care system, can initiate treatment. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may recommend one or more medicines. Your recommended blood pressure goal may depend on what other health conditions you have. You can lower your blood pressure by changing your habits and seeing your healthcare professional for appropriate medication if necessary. Many factors contribute to your likelihood of developing hypertension.

Who Is More Likely to Develop High Blood Pressure?

But the only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to get your blood pressure checked. If you think you are having a hypertensive crisis, call 911 right away. Children age 3 and older may have blood pressure measured as a part of their yearly checkups. Elevated blood pressure, sometimes called “prehypertension,” is a systolic pressure between 120 and 129 mm Hg and a diastolic pressure less than 80 mm Hg. Experts believe that multiple genes, in combination with environmental/lifestyle influences, are what ultimately cause the disease to manifest. The World Health Organization (WHO) supports countries to reduce hypertension as a public health problem.

• A 2020 study also found a link between moderate alcohol consumption and high blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes.
• Talk with your doctor about how to manage your blood pressure and whether medication might help.
• While most cases of hypertension are primary (many-faceted), several underlying health conditions can contribute to or cause secondary hypertension.
• You can often reverse secondary hypertension if you effectively treat the underlying condition.
• A healthy lifestyle can lower your risk for developing high blood pressure.

Watch out for symptoms including headaches, vision problems, stomachache, nausea, and shortness of breath. Your doctor also can test for other signs of preeclampsia, such as having too much protein in your pee. Your blood pressure depends on how much blood your heart pumps and how difficult it is for your blood to flow through your arteries. Things that affect either of these factors, such as being dehydrated or having narrow arteries, can impact your blood pressure.

High blood pressure is a common condition that affects the body’s arteries. If you have high blood pressure, the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls is consistently too high. Health conditions like diabetes or high cholesterol are also risk factors for hypertension. A heart-healthy lifestyle can help prevent high blood pressure and its complications. Still, it’s not yet known how much having a family history of the condition increases your risk.

The stiffening of arteries makes them more rigid and less elastic or flexible, impairing their ability to expand and stretch with blood flow. The prevalence of hypertension varies across regions and country income groups. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region has the highest prevalence of hypertension (38%) while the WHO Western Pacific Region has the lowest prevalence of hypertension (29%). Hypertension can also burst or block arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain, causing a stroke. If you smoke, the AHA recommends quitting as soon as you can.

If you are over 50 years old, it is especially important to pay attention to your blood pressure. The ranges for healthy and unhealthy blood pressure are the same for all adult age groups. If your blood pressure is above the normal range, talk to your doctor about how to lower it. Sometimes just getting a health checkup causes blood pressure to increase.

This could lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes —another risk factor for hypertension. Being overweight or having obesity can cause you to develop high blood pressure. That’s because having more fat tissue causes changes in your body. Although obesity is an underlying health condition, it warrants its own spot on this list. A 2020 literature review estimated that obesity accounted for 65% to 78% of cases of primary hypertension. Family health history is a record of the diseases and health conditions people in your family have had.