|
- Essential or primary hypertension:
There is no known cause of essential hypertension. However, there are risk factors that contribute to developing high blood pressure. A number of environmental factors have been implicated in the development of high blood pressure, including salt intake, obesity, race, physical activity level, heredity, diet, and stress level.
- Secondary Hypertension: Secondary hypertension accounts for approximately 5-10% of all cases of high blood pressure, with the remaining being essential or primary hypertension. Secondary hypertension has an identifiable cause, unlike essential hypertension. There are many known conditions that can cause secondary hypertension. Regardless of the cause, pressure in the arteries becomes elevated either due to an increase in how much blood the heart pumps to the body (cardiac output), an increase in the resistance of the blood vessels in the body, or both.
- Individuals with secondary hypertension are best treated by controlling or removing the underlying disease or cause, although they may still require antihypertensive (blood pressure lowering) drugs.
- Causes of secondary hypertension can be broken down into renal (kidney related), endocrine (hormonally related), neurological (of the nervous system), and miscellaneous.
- Renal: The kidneys regulate fluid (water) and electrolyte (including sodium, potassium, and chloride) levels in the body. Renal causes (related to the kidneys) of high blood pressure include radiation damage, renal artery stenosis (the narrowing of the main artery to the kidneys) and chronic renal disease such as diabetic neuropathy (damage to nerves cause by high blood sugar levels) and polycystic kidney disease (many cysts or closed sacs).
- Endocrine: Hormonal (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) changes or imbalances can cause increases in blood pressure. Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) can also cause hypertension. Diseases of the adrenal glands (located on top of the kidneys) can also cause high blood pressure, including pheochromocytoma (tumor of the adrenal gland), acromegaly (a disease caused by the secretion of excessive amounts of growth hormone), hyper- or hypothyroidism (high or low thyroid hormone), hyperparathyroidism (too much calcium in the blood, which raises blood pressure), Cushing's disease (release of excess stress hormone from the adrenal glands), insulin resistance (inability of insulin to control blood sugar levels) and primary hyperaldosteronism (an increased release of adrenal hormones that control fluid and electrolyte balance).
- Neurological: Some disorders of mental or emotional origin, including anxiety (nervousness) and mania (hyperactivity), may cause high blood pressure. Damage to the central nervous system, such as damage to the spinal cord, increased intracranial pressure (pressure around the brain), or nervous system tumors may also cause hypertension.
- Medications: Medications such as amphetamines including cocaine, dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine ®), and mixed amphetamine (Adderall ®), nasal decongestants (pseudoephedrine), non-sterodal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including ibuprofen (Motrin ®, Advil ®), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) including phenelzine (Nardil ®), adrenergic stimulants including clonidine (Catapres ®), and birth control pills (in about 5% of users) can cause hypertension while in use.
- Alcohol use: Chronic (long-term) alcohol use can also lead to hypertension.
- Other causes: Other causes of high blood pressure include aortic coarctation (genetic narrowing of the aorta, the largest artery of the body leading from the heart to the body), sleep apnea (disorder where people stop breathing for short periods of time in their sleep, licorice (when consumed in excessive amounts, can cause hyperaldosteronism), scleroderma (formation of scar tissue in organs), neurofibromatosis (genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow along the nerves), pregnancy (causing pre-eclampsia), cancers (tumors can interfere with blood flow).
 |
Learn
