Necessities to know about hypertension

Necessities of blood pressure

What causes high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is caused by multiple reasons, it depends on the situation. Sometimes you just have one of the risk factors but you may have high blood pressure and sometimes multiple reasons are monitored and your blood pressure is in the normal range. As it is clear it depends on food, medicine, lifestyle, age, and genetics. Your doctor can help you find out what might be causing yours. Common risk factors that can lead to high blood pressure include:

_A diet high in salt, fat, and cholesterols

_Chronic conditions such as kidney and hormone problems, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

_Family history, especially if your parents or other close relatives have high blood pressure

_Lack of physical activity

_Older age (the older you are, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure

_Being overweight or obese.

_Race (non-Hispanic black people are more likely to have a high blood pressure than people of other races).

_Some birth control medicines and other medicines.

_Stress.

_Tobacco use or drinking too much alcohol.

Although familial history has a powerful effect on blood pressure, most other risk factors can be monitored by correcting life Style.

Can high blood pressure be prevented or avoided?

If your high blood pressure is because of lifestyle factors or even medications you consume or your chronic diseases, in these situations you are able to reduce your risks. Take care of these steps:

Lose weight.

Stop smoking.

Eat properly.

Exercise.

Lower your salt intake.

Reduce your alcohol consumption.

Learn relaxation methods.

Change your notifications.

Treating your underlying diseases.

High Blood Pressure in Children

As you can understand from the name the force of the blood that flows through the vessels is known as blood pressure. This force is caused by the heart which pumps blood all over the body. In a person with hypertension, however, the blood pushes too hard against the blood vessels, which can cause damage to blood vessels, the heart, and other organs.

It’s probable to think high blood pressure or hypertension is a special condition that affects older ages and it’s not seen in children but it’s going to be a horrible problem in children. Hypertension affects all ages including young children.

Salt

Salt is a necessary source of sodium which is an essential mineral. However salt is necessary, you should be aware of the risks that may happen by consuming extra amounts of salt. One of the most important health conditions it can cause is hypertension.

The amount of necessary salt each person consumes is based on age and other factors like health levels. In most guidelines, they don’t measure the amount of salt and instead of that, they care about containing levels of sodium. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)Trusted Source lists the recommended maximum limit of sodium per day based on age:

The American Heart Association (AHA)Trusted Source also suggests that a person in adult ages consumes no more than 2.3 g of sodium per day, which is equivalent to 5.75 g of salt. They add that, ideally, no one at any age should consume more than 1.5 g of sodium, or 3.75 g of salt, per day and that a person only requires roughly 0.5 g of sodium per day for the body to function well ( sodium is a necessary mineral for neuron function).

What are hidden sources of salt?

The salt we eat comes largely from the processed and convenience foods in our diet (it’s not just the salt we see and pour in foods) but some natural and unprocessed foods also contain salt or sodium. The hidden sources of salt are not measured mostly and it increases the possibility of hypertension. Some patients tell that they had tried to monitor the amount of salt they consume but they have never thought about hidden sources. Here are some of the most common foods which contain huge amounts of salt and you should be careful with them. Hidden sources include:

Cheese.

Canned Soup.

Pickles.

Cured Meats and Cold Cuts.

Sauces and Salad Dressings.

Fast Food.

Canned Vegetables.

Frozen Meals.

Can second-hand smoke lead to high blood pressure?

Second-hand smokers are people who expose to cigarette smoke without consuming them. Children are a big group of second-hand smokers who expose to smoke mostly because of their parents. This smoke does not just affect their respiratory system, it also damages other parts of the body in many different ways. One of the most horrible conditions which have increased these days is hypertension caused by second-hand smoke, especially in young children.

How to Live with high blood pressure

If you are involved with hypertension you have to know that high blood pressure controlling is a lifelong commitment. You should be careful with your weight, have a healthy and salt-less diet, limit your alcohol consumption, cope with your stressful conditions, avoid smoking, and ...

So you have to try for a healthy lifestyle. In the first step, doctors try for monitoring the blood pressure by lifestyle correcting but if it won’t work, you have to consume hypertension drugs all your life.

You have to get used to regular check-ups so your doctor may ask you to come to the office regularly. You will be trained to check your blood pressure at home and in emergencies understand it immediately. You should buy your own, automated arm blood pressure cuff for use at home. Your doctor may want you to check your blood pressure several times a day. Another option is to use an ambulatory (wear as you are moving about) blood pressure monitor.