causes of high blood pressure

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Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

High blood pressure is often referred to as “The Silent Killer”. Although it’s been studied extensively, the causes of high blood pressure are still almost unknown. The actual causes of the high blood pressure are never known in about 90% of patients. Many people may have it for years and never know it. Unfortunately, when left untreated, high blood pressure can wreak havoc on your internal organs and can eventually be fatal. Those with high blood pressure have a much greater risk of stroke and heart attack than those without.

So what are the causes of high blood pressure in the 1 out of 10 people that can be traced to a cause? Let?s take a look at what is known about the causes of high blood pressure. One of the newest theories about the causes of high blood pressure has to do with, oddly enough, your brain and not your heart. In 2007 a group of British research scientists released the results of an experiment they did to try and determine the causes of high blood pressure and they have determined that a defect in a protein located in the brain of lab rats caused the area of the brain that regulates blood pressure in the body to be blocked and this caused high blood pressure in the rats. While conditions of the heart certainly cannot be eliminated as potential causes of high blood pressure, it is fascinating to see scientific analysis that leads to the brain as a possible cause of high blood pressure as well.

Kids Can Cause High Blood Pressure Before They Are Even Born

One of the more known causes of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, in women is called hypertension of pregnancy. Science has been able to link pregnancy to the development of hypertension in approximately 1 out of every 10 pregnant women. If untreated it can have devastating effects on the pregnancy and cause complications for the mother. It can, however, be treated and your doctor should be able to help prescribe a successful plan for dealing with hypertension of pregnancy. Unfortunately the doctor cannot help prevent the inevitable high blood pressure that kids can cause after they are born.

Another commonly known cause of high blood pressure is the narrowing, or widening, of the arteries surrounding the heart. These conditions require slightly more complicated tests to determine exactly what is going on and, in some cases, surgery may be required to correct the situation. What ever course of action your doctor recommends it is a good idea to listen to your doctor and take the treatment of your high blood pressure very seriously.

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