Hypertension is a disease that is accompanied by a marked increase in blood pressure. Arterial hypertension destroys blood vessels, which become narrowed and injured in a short period of time. The vessels cannot withstand the strong blood flow and rupture, causing bleeding. An increase in pressure can be observed in patients of any gender, and the causes of the pathology can be very different. Among the main reasons are genetic factors, consumption of large amounts of alcohol, pregnancy and age changes.
Factors that cause the development of the disease
Experts say that all deviations from the norm are individual for each patient. Considering this factor, in patients diagnosed with hypertension, the causes and symptoms differ and are not always sufficiently pronounced. A special treatment is selected for each patient with this pathology and it is impossible to use any templates.
What can cause hypertension in a person and what signs of the disease should be paid attention to? The following risk factors that can cause the development of pathology have been identified:
- Excess weight on the human body often causes arterial hypertension. This is due to the fact that the saturation of adipose tissue with blood is a rather complex process. Even gaining just a few extra pounds causes increased stress on the blood supply system and can cause disturbances in the work of the heart and arterial bed.
- Constant stay indoors and lack of fresh air with the necessary oxygen content can negatively affect people's health. Vasodilatation enables compensation of the hypoxic mixture from the lungs, and prolonged stay in poorly ventilated rooms causes symptoms of arterial hypertension.
- Another provoking factor under the influence of which juvenile hypertension can occur is the growth of testosterone in the body. The result is the appearance of signs of the disease and the gradual development of hypertension.
- Frequent stressful situations and emotional stress can cause an increase in blood pressure. In addition to the chronic nature of their course, all organs are in constant tonus, and the result is wear and tear of blood vessels and a decrease in their elasticity.
- Various injuries and damage to the brain can cause hypertension. They cause narrowing of the canal lumen and the body must actively fight against the resulting hypotonia.
Namely, high blood pressure is detected not only in cases of already existing atherosclerotic changes in the blood vessels. The development of hypertension is possible with an increased concentration of cholesterol in the human body, which creates certain difficulties with the movement of blood. The fact is that cholesterol plaques are an atherosclerotic process.
Etiology and causes of the disease
In order to prescribe effective treatment, it is important to identify all possible causes of hypertension. It is necessary to determine the factors that can subsequently cause an increase in pressure. The causes of hypertension are quite diverse and doctors are still studying them today.
The causes of pulmonary hypertension in patients of any gender and age lie in the narrowing of the diameter of small blood vessels. Gradually, the vascular walls begin to feel the pressure of the blood, and the consequence is the development of hypertension. Experts have not yet fully studied the etiology of the development of such a disease. Many experts say that the causes of hypertension are disorders in the work of the circulatory system.
The causes of hypertension in most cases cannot be determined, because there can be many of them. At the same time, we can identify the most common causes of pathology that cause the development of the disease:
- Congenital hypertension.Many diseases are hereditary, and hypertension is no exception. In approximately half of patients, the cause of hypertension is hidden in heredity. If your parents have arterial hypertension, the risk of developing it doubles.
- Poor nutrition.The pathogenesis of the development of vascular diseases can be poor nutrition. Salty foods can cause high blood pressure and cause illness. It will take some time for the kidneys to remove the excess sodium from the body, and until this happens, the excess salt will retain water. The result is the appearance of edema and an increase in the volume of circulating blood in patients with hypertension.
- Smoking.Tobacco contains nicotine, which speeds up the heartbeat and increases blood pressure. Chronic smoking is dangerous for the smoker and everyone around him.
- Alcohol abuse.Consuming large amounts of alcohol and morning hangovers have a negative impact on health and blood pressure. Statistics show that people under the influence of alcohol often suffer various injuries. Alcohol abuse, starting from a young age, often causes hypertension and many pathologies of the heart and circulatory system.
- Many are sufferingdependence on weather conditions, that is, they are particularly sensitive to weather changes. Even healthy people who move little and stay indoors for long periods of time can depend on the weather. Meteocrises in hypertensive patients mostly develop in unusual climatic conditions.
In the case of arterial hypertension, one of the causes is physical inactivity, i. e. low physical activity. At the same time, active sports can have negative consequences for the body. Patients with excess weight, pathologies of the heart and vascular system will have to refuse increased physical stress on the body.
Hypertension occurs in 1/3 of the adult population and is mostly an independent disease. In all other situations with arterial hypertension, the causes lie in the progression of human pathologies of other organs and systems, for example lungs or kidneys.
In medical practice, there is such a thing as secondary hypertension. The main causes of such hypertension are as follows:
- renal hypertension develops when the arteries supplying the kidneys are blocked;
- tumors of the adrenal gland appear, which causes the production of an increased amount of hormones;
- obesity and metabolic syndrome.
When a person develops hypertension, it is accompanied by the development of certain symptoms. It is important to seek the advice of a specialist as soon as the first signs of the disease appear, which will enable timely treatment.
At what age can hypertension develop and the first signs?
Hypertension can begin to develop at a young age, but it is most often detected in patients after 40 years. In its development, hypertension goes through several stages and each of them is accompanied by the appearance of certain symptoms. In the initial stage of the disease, pressure indicators increase to 140-159 mm Hg. In addition, signs of hypertension can appear as follows:
- headache localized in the temples and back of the head;
- reduced performance combined with a constant desire to sleep and reduced appetite;
- the appearance of spots in the eyes, especially with a sudden change in body position;
- problems with attention and memory;
- shortness of breath with little physical effort;
- facial skin discoloration.
The first signs of hypertension are usually quite mild and disappear after a while. Despite this, it is necessary to seek the advice of a specialist, because hypertension can be successfully treated at the very beginning of its development.
As arterial hypertension develops, symptoms of the disease may appear such as nausea, frequent dizziness, bleeding from the nasal cavity and numbness of the fingers. When hypertension reaches the final stage of its development, complications such as stroke, heart attack, arrhythmia and cardiac dysfunction may develop.
Characteristics of the development of the disease in men
The development of hypertension in women is less pronounced than in men. They tolerate this pathological condition much more easily and it does not cause serious health problems. With the development of hypertension in men, the skin of the face becomes bright red already at the initial stage of the development of the pathology.
Why is hypertension diagnosed more often in men than in women? The fact is that women are protected from the development of such pathology by female sex hormones and regular menstrual bleeding. In addition, women take much more care of their health than men.
In men, the etiology of arterial hypertension lies in obesity, bad habits, a sedentary lifestyle and stress at work. High blood pressure is considered a serious burden on the male body and causes dangerous complications. The stronger sex often develops problems such as angina pectoris, heart attacks, strokes and kidney pathologies.
Arterial hypertension is a serious danger at any age for both women and men. When the first signs of the disease appear, you must seek medical help, which will help to avoid the development of many complications. For the successful treatment of hypertension, the symptoms and causes of the pathology should be identified as soon as possible and its elimination should be started immediately.