High blood pressure

Risk factors explained

Certain things increase your likelihood of getting high blood pressure. Doctors call these things risk factors. Your high blood pressure may be caused by a combination of risk factors.

Getting older

Blood pressure tends to go up as people get older. For example, about 4 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 have high blood pressure, compared with about 13 million between the ages of 65 and 74.

Source:
American Heart Association.
Number of adults in U.S. with high blood pressure rose in last decade.
Available at http://www.americanheart.org (accessed 17 January 2008).

Being pregnant

Up to 1 in 10 pregnant women get high blood pressure.

Source:
Williams B, Poulter NR, Brown MJ, et al.
The BHS guidelines working party guidelines for management of hypertension: report of the fourth working party of the British Hypertension Society.
Journal of Human Hypertension. 2004; 18: 139-185.

² If this isn't controlled, it can lead to a condition called preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia can be very dangerous and can cause a woman to go into labor too early.
It can also cause other health problems in the mother, and the baby may weigh too little at birth. To learn more, see Preeclampsia.

For these reasons, doctors keep a close check on pregnant women's blood pressure and treat it with medications if necessary.

Your ethnic group

High blood pressure is more common in black Americans than in any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. It also tends to happen at an earlier age and be more severe. This is one reason why black Americans die at an earlier age and are more than eight times more likely to have

kidney disease
Kidney disease refers to conditions in which the kidneys (the organs in the body that make urine) have been damaged. Kidney disease can result from a number of different causes, including hypertension, which puts too much pressure on the kidneys.

kidney disease than white Americans.

Source:
National Institutes of Health
Prevent and control high blood pressure: mission possible.
Available at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/mission/partner/african_americans.pdf (accessed on 17 January 2008).

Being overweight

If you are overweight, you are more likely to have high blood pressure than someone who is of normal weight, especially if you carry this extra weight mainly on your abdomen rather than on your hips and thighs.

Source:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Your guide to lowering blood pressure.
Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov (accessed on 17 January 2008).

⁴ We don't know why this is.

Doctors tend to use two measurements to work out whether you are overweight.

Your body mass index (or BMI). Your BMI relates your weight to your height. This gives an estimate of your body fat. If your BMI is more than 27, you have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

Source:
Metz JA, Stern JS, Kris-Etherton P, et al.
A randomized trial of improved weight loss with a prepared meal plan in overweight and obese patients: impact on cardiovascular risk reduction.
Archives of Internal Medicine. 2000; 160: 2150-2158.

⁵ You can use our calculator to work out your BMI.
Your waist measurement. If you're a woman and your waist is more than 35 inches, you are considered overweight. If you're a man and your waist is more than 40 inches, you are considered overweight.

Source:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Your guide to lowering blood pressure.
Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov (accessed on 17 January 2008).

⁴

Not exercising enough

If you don't get regular exercise, your chance of getting high blood pressure is much higher than someone who is active and fit.

Source:
National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute National High Blood Pressure Education Program.
The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.
Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/jnc7full.pdf (accessed on 17 January 2008).

⁶

Eating and drinking the wrong things

Here's what we know about how what you eat and drink is linked to blood pressure.

A balanced diet that is rich in f ruit and v ege tables and low in saturated fat is linked with lower blood pressure. (Saturated fats are fats that are usually solid at room temperature. They're mostly found in butter, cream, cheese, meat and other animal products.)
If you have more than two alcoholic dr inks a day, you are up to twice as likely to get high blood pressure as someone who doesn't drink.

Source:
Fuchs FD, Chambless LE, Whelton PK, et al.
Alcohol consumption and the incidence of hypertension: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.
Hypertension. 2001; 37: 1242-1250.

⁷
But there is some evidence that drinking one or two alcoholic drinks a day may protect you against

heart disease
You get heart disease when your heart isn't able to pump blood as well as it should. This can happen for a variety of reasons.

heart disease even if you have high blood pressure.
Eating too much salt is linked to high blood pressure, but the evidence on this is mixed. For some people, salt seems to be more dangerous than it is for others. For example, older people and people with high blood pressure or diabetes are more likely to be affected by how much salt they eat.
Your blood pressure may rise when you drink coffee, but there is no evidence that it has a lasting effect.

Smoking

Smoking can raise your blood pressure by as much as 10 points on the blood pressure scale. To find out more about blood pressure readings, see What the numbers tell you.

Stress

There is some evidence that being in a very stressful situation can push up your blood pressure for a short time. But doctors aren't sure that feeling stressed has a lasting effect on your blood pressure.

Source:
Beevers G, Lip GYH, O'Brien E (editors).
ABC of hypertension.
4th edition. BMJ Books, London, UK; 2001.

⁸

Sources for the information on this page:

American Heart Association.Number of adults in U.S. with high blood pressure rose in last decade.Available at http://www.americanheart.org (accessed 17 January 2008).

Williams B, Poulter NR, Brown MJ, et al.The BHS guidelines working party guidelines for management of hypertension: report of the fourth working party of the British Hypertension Society.Journal of Human Hypertension. 2004; 18: 139-185.

National Institutes of HealthPrevent and control high blood pressure: mission possible.Available at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/mission/partner/african_americans.pdf (accessed on 17 January 2008).

National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteYour guide to lowering blood pressure.Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov (accessed on 17 January 2008).

Metz JA, Stern JS, Kris-Etherton P, et al.A randomized trial of improved weight loss with a prepared meal plan in overweight and obese patients: impact on cardiovascular risk reduction.Archives of Internal Medicine. 2000; 160: 2150-2158.

National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute National High Blood Pressure Education Program.The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/jnc7full.pdf (accessed on 17 January 2008).

Fuchs FD, Chambless LE, Whelton PK, et al.Alcohol consumption and the incidence of hypertension: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.Hypertension. 2001; 37: 1242-1250.

Beevers G, Lip GYH, O'Brien E (editors).ABC of hypertension.4th edition. BMJ Books, London, UK; 2001.

This information was last updated on Jul 25, 2008

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

The information on ConsumerReportsHealth.org should not be viewed as a substitute for a consultation with a medical or health professional. The information is meant to enhance communication with your doctor, not replace it. Consumers Union can not be liable for any loss, injury, or other damages related to your use of this information.

Your use of this information is subject to our User Agreement available at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.