Causes of High Blood Pressure

Causes of High Blood Pressure

High Blood Pressure is an increasing problem for many people today.  The underlying cause of blood pressure often is not specifically known.  However, there are several things that can be contributing factors.  For example, kidney dysfunction, narrowing of the arteries and high cholesterol are among the possible causes of high blood pressure.  Smoking and being overweight also can have an impact on your blood pressure.
 
There seems to be an important link between high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  For example, one study looked at 51 million people in the United States who suffered from high blood pressure.  Forty percent of those people had high levels of cholesterol along with their high blood pressure. 
 
Other recent studies have shown that there may be a significant link between people with high cholesterol and the development of high blood pressure.  In fact, a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed that men with low total cholesterol are less likely to end up having high blood pressure than those with high levels of total cholesterol.
 
If a person has good blood pressure readings now, but also has high cholesterol, the risk for developing high blood pressure later on can be high.  There definitely seems to be some connection between high cholesterol and the risk of having high blood pressure at some point in life even if the link is not seen immediately. 
 
The relationship between high cholesterol and high blood pressure may exist for several reasons.  For instance, one potential cause of high blood pressure can be narrowing of the arteries.  High cholesterol can cause this problem by building up inside the walls of the arteries, which over time can lead to arteriosclerosis.
 
Many risk factors for high blood pressure are risk factors for high cholesterol as well.  In order to help prevent high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol, a person should eat a healthy diet.  The diet should be well balanced and low in fat, especially saturated fats.  If a person does not have healthy eating habits, it can lead to high levels of bad cholesterol and can result in high blood pressure. 
 
Being overweight sometimes can be linked to high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  This may be another reason as to why there often is a correlation between the two.  If a person is overweight, it may result in both high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  As a person begins to lose weight, he or she often sees a reduction in the levels of the bad cholesterol, and may find that his or her blood pressure begins to drop, too.  Exercise is a great way to get into shape, begin to lose weight and lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Smoking can be another cause of high blood pressure.  If a person already is prone to high blood pressure, smoking can cause the condition to worsen.  Smoking can be a risk factor for high cholesterol as well.  Therefore, high blood pressure often can accompany high cholesterol.  Not smoking or quitting smoking can bring about positive results for both conditions.
 
The causes of high blood pressure can be numerous.  However, some connections between high cholesterol and high blood pressure have been seen.  At times, high cholesterol may be the cause of high blood pressure.  In other cases, risk factors may cause both high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Lifestyle changes can help with both conditions.