Learn more about systolic and diastolic pressure. What is typical blood pressure? Find out here. You can buy a blood pressure monitor for home use here.

Anybody who experiences these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention. Hormonal factors mean that the risk of high blood pressure may be different in males and females. Factors that can increase the risk of high blood pressure in females include:.

During pregnancy, high blood pressure can indicate preeclampsia , a potentially dangerous condition that can affect both the person and their fetus. All people should follow the guidelines for screening and attend all health checks, especially during pregnancy.

Research shows that before middle age, males are more likely to experience high blood pressure than females. Then, around the time of menopause, the reverse becomes true. However, health experts disagree on whether this is due to menopause. Some argue that, until menopause, hormonal factors — and specifically the presence of estrogen — helps protect people from high blood pressure.

When menopause occurs, individuals lose this protection, effectively making menopause the main risk factor for cardiovascular disease among females.

However, some suggest that other factors may increase the risk around this time, such as increased body mass index, aging, and dietary changes, whether hormonal changes also play a role or not.

Teenagers can develop high blood pressure due to obesity or an underlying medical condition. Possible medical factors include :.

The symptoms of high blood pressure, if they occur, will be the same as for other groups. A study notes that, while death rates from cardiovascular disease have fallen among older adults, the reduction has been less dramatic in those aged 18—39 years.

The author suggests there are lower rates of awareness, treatment, and management of high blood pressure in those aged 20— With this in mind, they call for more effective identification of high blood pressure in these age groups to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems later in life.

High blood pressure can affect children. Having obesity and diabetes increases the risk, but other underlying causes include :. As with adults, high blood pressure does not often cause symptoms in children. Newborns and very young babies can sometimes have high blood pressure due to an underlying health condition, such as kidney or heart disease.

Clinical tests may show there are problems with blood pressure or the cardiopulmonary system. Any symptoms may be non-specific or not noticeable, or hypertension may occur alongside symptoms of other conditions.

High blood pressure can occur when certain changes happen in the body or if a person is born with specific genetic features that cause a health condition.

It can affect people with:. Sometimes, there is no apparent cause. In this case, a doctor will diagnose primary hypertension. Consuming a low fat diet, maintaining a moderate weight, reducing alcohol consumption, stopping smoking tobacco, will help lower the risk of high blood pressure.

Treatment will depend on several factors, including how high the blood pressure is and the risk of cardiovascular disease or a stroke. The doctor will recommend different treatments as blood pressure increases. For slightly high blood pressure, they may suggest making lifestyle changes and monitoring the blood pressure.

If blood pressure is high, they will recommend medication. The options may change over time, according to how severe the hypertension is and whether complications arise, such as kidney disease.

Some people may also need a combination of several different medications. Conventional drugs for treating high blood pressure include:. Angiotensin converting enzyme ACE inhibitors block the actions of some hormones that regulate blood pressure, such as angiotensin II. Angiotensin II causes the arteries to constrict and increases blood volume, increasing blood pressure.

ACE inhibitors can reduce the blood supply to the kidneys, making them less effective. As a result, people taking them need to undergo regular blood tests. Additionally, individuals should not use ACE inhibitors if they are pregnant or have a condition that affects the blood supply to the kidneys.

ACE inhibitors may cause the following side effects, which usually resolve after a few days:. If the side effects are persistent or too unpleasant to manage, a doctor may prescribe an angiotensin II receptor antagonist instead.

These alternative medications often cause fewer side effects, but they may include dizziness, headaches, and increased potassium levels in the blood.

Calcium channel blockers CCBs aim to decrease calcium levels in the blood vessels. This will relax the vascular smooth muscle, causing the muscle to contract less forcefully, the arteries to widen, and blood pressure to reduce. However, CCBs may not always be suitable for people with a history of heart disease, liver disease, or blood circulation issues.

A doctor can advise on taking CCBs and which type is safe to use. The following side effects may occur with CCBs, but they usually resolve after a few days:. Learn more about CCBs. Thiazide diuretics help the kidneys remove sodium and water, lowering blood volume and pressure.

People taking thiazide diuretics should undergo regular blood and urine tests to monitor their blood sugar and potassium levels.

Beta-blockers were once popular for treating hypertension, but doctors now only tend to prescribe them when other treatments are ineffective. These medications slow the heart rate and reduce the force of the heartbeat, causing a drop in blood pressure.

Beta-blockers are often the standard medication for a person with very high blood pressure, known as a hypertensive crisis. Aliskiren Tekturna, Rasilez reduces the production of renin, an enzyme that the kidneys produce.

Renin helps produce a hormone that narrows blood vessels and raises blood pressure. Reducing this hormone causes the blood vessels to widen and blood pressure to fall. It is essential to read the packaging of any medication to check for interactions with other drugs. Find out more detail about blood pressure medications.

Managing the diet can be an effective way of preventing and treating high blood pressure. A nutritious, balanced diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, vegetable and omega oils, and good quality, unrefined carbohydrates , such as whole grains.

People who include animal products in their diet should trim the fat off and avoid processed meats. Experts recommend reducing salt consumption and increasing potassium intake to manage or prevent high blood pressure. Limiting salt intake to less than 5—6 grams per day could help improve cardiovascular health and reduce systolic blood pressure by 5.

In moderation, plant-based sources of fats, such as avocados, nuts, olive oil, and omega oils, can provide benefits. People should limit their intake of saturated fats and trans fats, common in animal-sourced and processed foods. Health experts recommend the DASH diet for people with high blood pressure.

In addition to high blood pressure, having obesity can also lead to heart disease and diabetes. Talk to your health care team about a plan to reduce your weight to a healthy level.

Tobacco use increases your risk for high blood pressure. Smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels. Nicotine raises blood pressure, and breathing in carbon monoxide—which is produced from smoking tobacco—reduces the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry. Family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments that can influence their health and their risk for disease.

High blood pressure can run in a family, and your risk for high blood pressure can increase based on your age and your race or ethnicity. When members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes, that process is called heredity.

Genes likely play some role in high blood pressure, heart disease, and other related conditions. However, it is also likely that people with a family history of high blood pressure share common environments and other potential factors that increase their risk.

The risk for high blood pressure can increase even more when heredity combines with unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking and eating an unhealthy diet. Family health history is a record of the diseases and health conditions people in your family have had. Family health history is a useful tool for understanding health risks and preventing disease.

Both men and women can have high blood pressure. Some other characteristics that you cannot control—such as your age, race, or ethnicity—can affect your risk for high blood pressure.

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Here are eight ways that uncontrolled high blood pressure can negatively affect your health: It raises your risk of heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure damages the walls of your arteries.

This makes them more likely to develop deposits of plaque that harden, narrow or block your arteries. These deposits also can lead to blood clots. Blood clots can flow through your bloodstream and block blood flow to your heart or brain, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.

It makes you more likely to develop heart failure. When your arteries are hardened or narrowed, your heart has to work harder to circulate your blood. This increased workload can cause your heart to become larger and fail to supply your organs with blood.

You may experience chest pain. Chest pain, also called angina, occurs when the heart does not get the blood it needs. When people with high blood pressure perform activities such as walking uphill, going up steps, or exercising, angina can cause pressure, squeezing, pain, or a feeling of fullness in the chest.

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Refer a Patient. Executive Health Program. International Business Collaborations. Supplier Information. Admissions Requirements. Degree Programs. Many factors raise your risk of high blood pressure.

Some risk factors, such as unhealthy lifestyle habits, can be changed. Other risk factors, such as age, family history and genetics, race and ethnicity, and sex, cannot be changed.

A healthy lifestyle can lower your risk for developing high blood pressure. Blood pressure tends to increase with age. Our blood vessels naturally thicken and stiffen over time. These changes increase the risk for high blood pressure. However, the risk of high blood pressure is increasing for children and teens, possibly because more children and teens are living with overweight or obesity.

High blood pressure often runs in families. Much of what we know about high blood pressure has come from genetic studies. Many different genes are linked to a small increase in the risk high blood pressure. Research suggests that some DNA changes as an unborn baby grows in the womb may lead to high blood pressure later in life.

Some people have a high sensitivity to salt in their diet, which can play a role in high blood pressure. This can also run in families. Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can make it more difficult for your body to control your blood pressure.

Antidepressants, decongestants medicines to relieve a stuffy nose , hormonal birth control pills, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs such as aspirin or ibuprofen can all raise your blood pressure. Other medical conditions change the way your body controls fluids, sodium, and hormone in your blood.

Other conditions that can cause high blood pressure include:. High blood pressure is more common in African American and Hispanic adults than in white or Asian adults. Compared with other racial or ethnic groups, African Americans tend to have higher average blood pressure numbers and get high blood pressure earlier in life.

Experiencing discrimination has been tied to high blood pressure. In addition, some high blood pressure medicines may not work as well in African Americans. During pregnancy , African American women are more likely than white women to develop preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy disorder that causes sudden high blood pressure and problems with the kidneys and liver. Men are more likely than women to develop high blood pressure throughout middle age.

But in older adults, women are more likely than men to develop high blood pressure. Women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to have high blood pressure later in life. Research now shows that factors such as income, your education, where you live, and the type of job you have may contribute to your risk of high blood pressure.

Working early or late shifts is one example of a social factor that can raise your risk. Additionally, some research has shown that experiencing danger, harm, or trauma as a child has links to a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

A heart-healthy lifestyle can help prevent high blood pressure from developing.