There are indeed a number of factors that can cause high blood pressure so it's important to identify it quickly so it doesn't have a chance to lead to serious disease if not treated. There are a lot of ways to have your blood pressure checked easily you can even buy a kit and do it at home. This article will discuss a few of the more common causes of high blood pressure.
One such cause is being overweight. There has been a sharp rise in cases of high blood pressure in developed countries as a result of obesity. High blood pressure for an overweight person can be a warning sign to other health problems too. The way to address this is fairly simple, and involves eating a healthier diet and getting more exercise, and it's often possible to lower your blood pressure quite a bit simply by making such changes in your lifestyle. Stress is another common cause of high blood pressure. All you need to do is learn to process life's little stressors more appropriately to calm your stress levels. Don't let your Type A personality get in the way of learning to relax and let things roll off your back. Greater risk of high blood pressure comes from being stressed, angry or tense all the time. You will need to find some ways to relax and manage these feelings before they have an adverse affect on your health. If you can learn how to relax and reduce stress in your life, you can lower your blood pressure.
People whose blood pressure is high often have high cholesterol as well, so you should pay attention to your cholesterol levels. Not all cholesterol is harmful, however, and researchers have identified "good" as well as "bad" varieties. Atherosclerosis, or blockage of the arteries, as well as hypertension, can result from having high levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol.
On the other hand, HDL is the good kind of cholesterol, and this actually reverses the damage done by bad cholesterol. Good cholesterol can be increased if you eat healthy fats, such as are found in may nuts, olive oil, avocados and fish oil. If you want to lower your bad cholesterol, it's important to avoid junk foods, and especially foods with unhealthy fats. If you focus on lowering your cholesterol, you will probably lower your blood pressure as well, and both are factors you have to watch for the sake of your health. High blood pressure isn't always noticed or diagnosed until it's gone way beyond just hypertension which is why it is referred to as a silent killer. Use the guidelines we've shared here in this article along with regular checkups from your doctor to keep you ahead of the game when dealing with the potential to have hypertension, eat right, exercise regularly and cut down on fats.
