Risk Factors for high blood pressure

A person’s age and gender are typically the primary high blood pressure risk factors. Generally speaking, high blood pressure is more common in men who are around the age of 45. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to develop high blood pressure in their 60s.

High blood pressure occurs especially frequently in blacks, oftentimes occurring at a much earlier age on average. The complications of strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failures are much higher in black sufferers of high blood pressure as well.

Weight and activity level

The more that a person physically weighs, the harder the heart has to work in order to provide an optimal amount of blood to all of the places that need the oxygen and nutrients. The volume of blood circulating through all of your blood vessels will naturally have to increase in order to compensate for the amount of body mass that you carry, and with all of this additional compensation in blood vessel size, there will naturally be a higher degree of pressure on the walls of the arteries as well.

People who don’t have as much physical activity in their lives are some of the most at-risk for high blood pressure of all. The higher that a person’s heart rate rises on a regular basis, the more that it is required to work at double-time in order to keep its contractions and pumping force proportionally sufficient. Naturally, the common overlap between high body weight and low physical activity creates a high blood pressure risk factor that is dangerously compounded in certain individuals.

Smoking and diet deficiencies

Another one of the most dangerous high blood pressure risk factors is the regular use of tobacco. Smoking and chewing tobacco will immediately raise your blood pressure, and even though the blood pressure rise is only temporary at first, the residual chemicals in the tobacco are where the real danger lies. All of the dangerous chemicals in tobacco are especially harmful to your artery walls. The arteries will naturally narrow in response to the chemicals in tobacco, which can make the blood pressure rise far over natural levels in the long-term.

The unhealthy rate of water retention caused by an excess of sodium in your diet can be very pronounced high blood pressure risk factor in those who frequently eat fast food, and this can be exacerbated by the high blood pressure risk factors of potassium and vitamin D deficiencies.