Having high blood pressure should be a major cause of concern because it causes serious conditions such as strokes and heart attacks. Those people who suffer from chronic high blood pressure or hypertension are at the greatest risk of experiencing conditions which are life threatening. In order for women to take preventative measures to avoid hypertension, it is important to be aware of the main causes. Using a blood pressure chart is an easy way to quickly determine if you have high blood pressure.
It is important to note that this condition does not only affect the older women. Even younger women are at risk of developing this ailment. There are two forms of hypertension. There is what is called primary high blood pressure and there is secondary hypertension. There are no specific causes for primary hypertension.
Secondary hypertension on the other hand is caused by other conditions or medicines. This article is mainly focusing on the causes of secondary hypertension in women. Women need to know that taking birth control pills can cause hypertension. Apart from birth control pills, there are other drugs which cause water retention as well as thinning of the arteries.
All of that leads to hypertension. Another cause of secondary hypertension is pregnancy. Usually those women that have diabetes or kidney diseases suffer from hypertension during pregnancy. Another category of women who suffer from this condition during pregnancy include obese women and women over the age of 40.
Another known cause of secondary hypertension in women is obesity. Obese people have high fat and high cholesterol levels. The reason why obese people normally suffer from hypertension is that extra cholesterol is deposited in the arteries. When this happens, the arteries narrow and the result is hypertension.
The above mentioned factors are the main causes of high blood pressure. However, there are other potential causes of this condition in women. One of the potential causes is smoking and alcoholism. This means that if you drink and smoke there is a chance that you might develop hypertension. Another common cause of hypertension is stress. People who lead very stressful lives are most likely to develop this ailment.
Patients who suffer from this ailment are usually advised to try to keep their stress levels down because stress actually causes the pressure to rise. Another trigger of hypertension is diabetes. Secondary hypertension is caused by some underlying condition that the person might have. In this case, if you suffer from diabetes, your chances of having hypertension are high. Another common trigger is kidney disease. In such a case you will have what is called renal hypertension.
High blood pressure is also caused by physical inactivity. In order to lead a healthy and productive life, people are advised to eat healthy and exercise frequently. Being physically inactive can actually cause hypertension. Old age and a high intake of salt are other common causes of this condition. As can be seen, most of the causes of hypertension can be controlled. For instance, you can ensure that you have a healthy weight and you do not drink or smoke. You can also make it a point that you do not consume too much salt.
