M.D. Creekmore

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It is advantageous to be adequately informed about high blood pressure, and what causes it and also the most common myths about it so you can make smart decisions when it comes to treatment and lowering your blood pressure.

I’ve listed and detailed the most common high-blood pressure myths below…

Myth: High blood pressure runs in my family, there may be nothing I can do to save myself from it.

High blood pressure can run in families. In case your parents or close blood relatives have had high blood pressure, you’re much more likely to experience it too. However, lifestyle choices have allowed many people with a circle of relatives who have a history of high blood pressure to keep away from it themselves.

Myth: I don’t use table salt, so I’m on top of things of my sodium consumption and my blood pressure.

In some humans, sodium can enhance blood pressure. However, controlling sodium in a manner greater than just placing down the salt shaker is needed. It also helps to check labels, due to the fact up to 75 percent of the sodium we consume is hidden in processed foods like tomato sauce, soups, condiments, canned foods, and prepared mixes.

While shopping for prepared and prepackaged foods, examine the labels. Look out for the phrases “soda” and “sodium” and the image “Na” on labels. These phrases show that sodium compounds are present.

Also, it should be noted that in some recent studies it has been shown that sodium intake has little effect on blood pressure levels – for example, this article from MedicalNewsToday.com.

Myth: I take advantage of kosher or sea salt once I cook rather than everyday table salt – they maybe low-sodium alternatives.

Chemically, kosher salt and sea salt are similar to desk salt — forty percent sodium—  table salt is a combination of the 2 minerals sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl).

Myth: I feel great. I do not need to worry about high blood pressure.

Approximately 103 million U.S. adults have high blood pressure — and lots of them are unaware of it or don’t have any signs or symptoms. If out of control, high blood pressure can result in extreme and severe health issues and you might not feel a thing until it’s too late.

Myth: People with high blood pressure have anxiousness, sweating, and their face becomes flushed. I don’t have these signs so I’m fine.

Many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing it or having any symptoms. It’s regularly referred to as “the silent killer” as it typically has no symptoms (see the myth above again). You may not be aware that it’s affecting your arteries, heart, and organs.

Go for periodic check-ups and check it at home, (this is the blood pressure monitor that I use – link goes to Amazon.com product page) and don’t make the mistake of assuming any specific symptoms will help you to recognize if there’s a trouble.

Myth: I read that wine is good for the heart. Because of this, I will drink as much as I want.

If you drink alcohol, along with crimson wine, do so moderately. Heavy and regular use of alcohol can increase blood pressure dramatically. Excessive drinking can also increase the risk of coronary heart failure, and stroke and abnormal heartbeats. Too much alcohol can also make a contribution to excessive triglycerides, cancer, obesity, alcoholism (duh), suicide, accidents, AND sexual problems, as in limp penis or the ability to ejaculate.

If you drink, limit consumption to no more than two drinks daily. Commonly, one drink equals a 12-ounce beer, a four-ounce glass of wine, 1.5 oz. of eighty-proof liquor, or one ounce of hard liquor.

Myth: I have high blood pressure and my physician checks it for me. This means I don’t need to check it at home.

Due to the fact, blood pressure can fluctuate, home tracking and recording of blood pressure readings can provide your healthcare provider with precious statistics to determine whether you actually have blood pressure and, in case you do, whether or not your medications and the treatment plan is working.

It’s vital to take the readings at the identical time each day, including morning and evening, or as your healthcare expert recommends.

Myth: Most of the people with high blood pressure experience symptoms, like headaches, nosebleeds or vertigo.

High blood pressure is called “the silent killer” because it usually causes no symptoms so guys don’t rely on symptoms as an indicator of having blood pressure problems. Most people show no signs, a study of patients hospitalized for a hypertensive crisis–a medical emergency during which to blood pressure numbers is a hundred and eighty or higher or the bottom number is a hundred and ten or higher–found that only17% of those patients suffered nosebleeds.

In some cases, a hypertensive crisis might also cause vertigo, severe anxiety or shortness of breath but most of the time will cause no systems.

The American Health Association recommends having your pressure checked a minimum of once each 2 years, or as advised by your medical provider.

Myth: High blood pressure always needs medication to lower it.

For folks with prehypertension, the best way to remedy this is by modifying your lifestyle by increasing physical activity, losing weight and consuming healthy foods i.e. men eat your vegetables. If these lifestyle changes don’t work then medications may be needed.

However, unless you have an underlying medical condition better lifestyle choices as detailed above will help bring your blood pressure down to recommended numbers.

Another misconception Is that extremely high blood pressure isn’t always a big deal… As I stated pevously you probably will not have any symptoms of high blood pressure, so you might not be worried or ever aware of the fact that your number are extremely elevated.

However, in the long run, high blood pressure can kill you. Coronary heart disease and stroke, each as a result of excessive blood pressure, are the primary and fifth main reasons for death inside the U.S. – to find out what will probably kill you please read – What Are the 12 Leading Causes of Death in the United States over at Healthline.com…

Some other people think that  High Blood Pressure can’t be prevented without prescription medications…

Maybe you have other relatives with high blood pressure, perhaps you’re a member of a set of people who are at more risk. For these or other reasons, you will be tempted to think that there may be nothing you could do about high blood pressure.

As I’ve said previously there are steps that you can take to decrease your chances of developing high blood pressure and to lower if you already do… but, I’ll reiterate a few of those again below.

• Keep your weight at a healthy level for your high, you can accomplish this with the aid of a mixture of eating healthy food and physical activity which will result in weight loss and overall better health.
• Restrict how much alcohol you drink each day.
• Do not smoke tobacco, and reduce your exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Try and get at the least 30 minutes of exercise each day, as a minimum five days a week. Workouts relieve stress, help you lose weight and as a result can help you control high blood pressure.

One last point. Over the years the official recommendations for what is considered “high blood pressure” have continued to be lowered and we have to ask is that due to better research or because lowering numbers of what is considered normal being done to increase the profits of big pharma?

The numbers used to be one-hundred plus your age for the top systolic number. In other words, a normal systolic reading for a 65-year-old would be 165. Then they updated the numbers to 140/90 and below as normal, and now those numbers are set even lower to 120/72.

As a result, nearly everyone now falls under the category of having pre-hypertension or hypertension which means big bucks for the medical industry. Personally, I don’t consider anything under 140/90 to constitute high blood pressure, but that’s a personal choice and you should talk it over with your doctor.

I’m not a doctor (just a decent researcher) and so you should not make medical decisions based on what I have written here or anywhere else on this website, you should instead seek medical advice from a licensed medical professional.

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High blood pressure occurs when the blood pressure levels of a person stays very high for a long period of time. The blood pressure results from the fact that each heartbeat blood is pumped from the heart, into the blood vessels. The blood exerts pressure on the vessel wall from the inside.

Depending on the action taken, there exist two blood pressure values:

• Systolic Blood Pressure: This arises during the phase in which the heart contracts. Blood is pumped from the heart into the main artery (aorta). The resulting pressure wave continues on through the arterial walls of the arteries. As a result, a pulse wave can be measured.
• Diastolic Blood Pressure: During diastole, the heart muscle expands to replenish itself with blood. There is still pressure in the vessels, but it is lower than the systolic blood pressure.

For everyone, blood pressure is subject to fluctuations. For example, excitement and physical exertion raise blood pressure, while restful moments and sleep significantly lower blood pressure.

Doctors distinguish between two basic forms of hypertension regarding its causes:

• Primary hypertension: There is no underlying disease that can be detected as a cause of this high blood pressure. This essential hypertension accounts for approximately 90 percent of all high blood pressure cases.
• Secondary hypertension: Here, hypertension is based on another disease as a trigger. These can be, for example, kidney disease, thyroid dysfunction or other metabolic diseases.

Primary hypertension: Causes

What exactly causes the primary hypertension is not yet known. However, several factors are known which favor the development of this form of high blood pressure:

• A family tendency to high blood pressure
• Overweight (body mass index = BMI> 25)
• Lack of exercise
• High salt consumption
• High alcohol consumption
• Low potassium intake (a lot of potassium is in fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruit or nuts)
• Smoking
• Older age (men ≥ 55 years, women ≥ 65 years)

Apparently, there is also a connection between hypertension and menopause in women: High blood pressure occurs more frequently in women after the end of the fertile years and that’s because they are no longer having menstrual periods and the resulting blood loss cycle.

The good news for men is that regularly giving blood (about every three months is ideal) can reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 30 percent! This according to ScienceDaily.com and NCBI research.

There is also another, often underestimated factor in high blood pressure and that is stress. Although it is not considered the sole cause of high blood pressure. However, in people with a tendency for temporary bouts of hypertension, stress is almost always the contributing factor. Get rid of the stress and stress-induced high blood pressure falls back down to normal ranges quickly.

In most cases, the frequency of primary hypertension occurs together with other diseases.

These include:

• Overweight
• Type 2 diabetes
• Elevated blood lipid levels

When these three factors coincide with high blood pressure, physicians speak of the metabolic syndrome.

Secondary hypertension: Causes

In secondary hypertension, high blood pressure causes are found in another condition. These are usually kidney diseases, metabolic disorders (for example Cushing’s syndrome) or vascular diseases.

For example, renal artery stenosis and chronic kidney disease (eg, chronic glomerulonephritis, cystic kidney) may be the cause of hypertension. The same is true for a congenital narrowing of the main artery (aortic isthmus stenosis).

Another trigger of secondary hypertension may be sleep apnea syndrome. This is a breathing disorder while sleeping.

Even some medicines are considered high blood pressure causes. These include, for example,  hormones  (such as the “anti-baby pill”) and rheumatism. Certain drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines can cause abnormal blood pressure.

Around one in every twenty cases of high blood pressure is the result of associate degree underlying conditions or medication.

Chronic nephrosis (CKD) could be a common explanation for high force per unit area as a result of the kidneys being unable to separate out fluid. This fluid excess results in high blood pressure.

Risk factors

A number of risk factors increase the probabilities of getting high blood pressure.

Age: High blood pressure is common in folks aged over sixty years. With age, force per unit area will increase steadily because the arteries become stiffer and narrower due to plaque build-up.

Ethnicity: Some ethnic teams area unit are at risk of high blood pressure.

Size and weight: Being overweight or rotund could be a key risk issue.

Alcohol and tobacco use: overwhelming giant amounts of alcohol frequently will increase a human force per unit area, as will smoking tobacco.

Sex: The period of time risk is that the same for males and females, however, men tend to have a higher risk of high blood pressure at a younger age. The prevalence tends to be higher in older girls.

Existing health conditions: Diabetics, chronic nephrosis, and high cholesterol levels will cause high blood pressure increase, particularly as folks develop.

Other contributory factors include:

• Physical inactivity
• A salt-rich diet related to processed and fatty foods
• Alcohol and tobacco use
• Certain diseases and medications

A case history of high force per unit area and poorly managed stress also can contribute.

In some cases, disorders of the hormonal balance can also cause high blood pressure. It manifests in the following way:

• Cushing Syndrome: In this hormonal disorder, the body produces too much cortisol. This hormone affects many metabolic processes and is released during stress, among other things.
• Primary hyperaldosteronism (Conn syndrome): overproduction of the hormone aldosterone due to a disorder in the adrenal cortex (such as a tumor).
• Pheochromocytoma: This is a mostly benign adrenal tumor that produces stress hormones (catecholamines such as norepinephrine, epinephrine). This hormone overproduction leads to hypertensive episodes of headache, dizziness, and palpitations.
• Acromegaly: This produces a tumor in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland unchecked growth hormones. This enlarges certain parts of the body such as hands, feet, lower jaw, chin, nose and eyebrow ridges.
• Androgenital Syndrome: The inherited metabolic disease leads to a disturbed production of the hormones aldosterone and cortisol in the adrenal gland. The cause of the disease is a genetic defect that is untreatable.
• Thyroid dysfunction: Hypertension also occurs more frequently in association with hyperthyroidism.

Note: This is part one on how to lower your blood pressure – please click this link to go to a page on this site with a list and links to the other parts in this series of articles on how men can lower blood pressure naturally.  For the next article in this series please click the following link – Myths and misconceptions about high blood pressure.

All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.