Causes of Hypertension

Hypertension is a common disease in our human body. Because of its high incidence rate, we can often see patients with hypertension around us. There are many causes of hypertension, which everyone knows, but when it comes to the specific causes, most people are often confused, because most people usually don’t know the specific causes of hypertension.

Hypertension can cause great harm to the human body, and I believe most people who have suffered from hypertension are well aware of this. There are many treatments for hypertension. The most common ones are Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Both methods are effective in treating hypertension. So, let’s talk about the causes of hypertension.

Causes

The cause of hypertension is unknown, and the factors associated with the disease include:

1. Age: The incidence rate tends to increase with age, and the incidence rate is highest in people over 40 years old.

2. Salt: People who consume a lot of salt have a high incidence of hypertension. Some people believe that if they consume 2g of salt per day, they will hardly develop hypertension; if they consume 3-4g of salt per day, the incidence of hypertension will be 3%; if they consume 4-15g per day, the incidence will be 33.15%; and if they consume 20g per day, the incidence will be 30%.

3. Weight: The incidence rate is high in obese people.

4. Genetics: About half of patients with hypertension have a family history.

5. Environment and occupation: A noisy working environment and excessive mental work are prone to high blood pressure. The incidence of high blood pressure in cities is higher than in rural areas.

Blood pressure regulation mechanism

A variety of factors can cause high blood pressure. The heart's ability to pump blood is enhanced (such as increased heart contractility, etc.), which increases the amount of blood pumped out per second. Another factor is that the large arteries lose their normal elasticity and become stiff, and cannot expand effectively when the heart pumps blood. Therefore, the blood pumped out by each heartbeat passes through a narrower space than normal, causing increased pressure. This is why high blood pressure often occurs in older people whose artery walls become thick and stiff due to atherosclerosis. Due to stimulation of nerves and hormones in the blood, small arteries throughout the body may temporarily constrict, also causing an increase in blood pressure. A third factor that may increase blood pressure is an increase in the volume of fluid in the circulation. This is common in kidney disease, when the kidneys cannot adequately excrete sodium and water from the body, causing blood volume to increase, leading to increased blood pressure.

Conversely, a drop in blood pressure can occur if the heart's ability to pump blood is limited, blood vessels dilate, or there is excessive fluid loss. These factors are primarily regulated through changes in kidney function and the autonomic nervous system (the part of the nervous system that automatically regulates many body functions).

Through the detailed introduction above, I believe most people have a general understanding of the causes of hypertension. In fact, as introduced in the article above, the causes of hypertension generally include age, salt, weight, genetics, environment and occupation. Of course, there are many other possible causes of hypertension. However, no matter what causes hypertension, the most important thing for patients is to seek timely treatment. Only in this way can we ensure that hypertension is cured in the shortest time.