What can cause hypertension?
Blood pressure rises naturally with age but is strongly influenced by lifestyle. In this video, Dr Ravi Assomull explains common causes of hypertension and when secondary causes need investigation.
Learn more about High blood pressure or book a consultation with Dr Assomull – no GP referral needed, appointments typically within one working day.
Transcript
Hypertension can almost be regarded as part of the aging process. As you get older your blood pressure rises and it isn't unnatural or uncommon for people above the age of 50 to find that they've developed hypertension. This is caused by stiffening of the blood vessels in the vascular system.
What we should also talk about is the role of lifestyle. Often if you're overweight, don't exercise adequately or eat the wrong kind of food, especially ultra processed foods, that can raise your blood pressure. The good news is if we target these lifestyle measures you can often normalize your blood pressure without needing treatments such as tablets.
In a small proportion of people, especially if you're very young and you develop high blood pressure, we need to rule out what we call secondary causes of hypertension which are causes of hypertension that result from typically structural or hormonal imbalances in the body.
