Causes, Health Risks and Prevention of High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

What Causes High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)?

Your heart pumps blood. Blood pressure is the force of blood against your blood vessels as it circulates. This force is necessary to make the blood flow, delivering nutrients and oxygen throughout your body. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, means there is too much pressure in your blood vessels. This can damage your blood vessels and cause health problems. Anyone can develop high blood pressure, but it becomes more common as you get older.

Causes You Can Control:

• Unhealthy diet
• Smoking
• Excessive alcohol
• Lack of regular exercise
• Obesity
• Stress
• Sleep apnea
• Diabetes
• Kidney disease

Causes You Can’t Control

• Age
• Family history

How Can You Prevent High Blood Pressure?

• Be physically active (30 to 60 minutes most days of the week)
• Maintain a low salt (sodium) diet: read food labels and choose only packaged foods with 5% or less the daily value of sodium.
• Maintain healthy diet: vegetables, fruit, low-fat milk products, whole grains, lean meats, fish, beans, nuts, etc…
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Stop smoking
• Manage your stress

High blood pressure poses serious health risks including:
• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Dementia
• Kidney (renal) disease
• Eye problems (retinopathy)
• Erectile dysfunction

Speak with one of our Scarborough family doctors for more information and to start monitoring your blood pressure.

Source: Hypertension Canada: https://www.hypertension.ca/en/