The first thing a person may want to know upon getting a diagnosis of high blood pressure is: what caused it?

Your doctor may be at a loss of words in trying to give you an answer because according to the American Heart association,  in 90 to 95 percent of high blood pressure cases, the cause is simply unknown. This type of high blood pressure is known as Primary or Essential hypertension.

Secondary Hypertension accounts for the remaining 5 to 10 percent of cases, and the cause can be attributed to various factors.
 
1. Primary or Essential High Blood Pressure.
Although the precise cause of primary hypertension is unknown, both genes, and environmental factors play key roles. Research shows that essential hypertension tends to cluster in families. Also, this type of high blood pressure is more prevalent in some racial and ethnic groups which leads to the hypothesis that heredity may play an importnat role in essential hypertension.

Another reason why essential (primary) high blood pressure may affect members of the same family is because they may all share environmental, and lifestyle habits that put them at increased risk for developing this type of high blood pressure.

Some of the recognized risk factors for primary hypertension include:

Family History: If you have a family history of high blood pressure,  you are more likely to have high blood pressure yourself.
Environment: Family size, occupation, stress
Lifestyle: Lack of exercise, diet, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, excessive caffeine intake
Race and Etnicity: Blacks and Latinos are more prone to having primary hypertension than whites.

How Is It Treated?
If you're diagnosed with high blood pressure, your doctor will put you on medication to lower it. This may include one, or a combination of blood pressure lowering drugs, and a diuretic if needed. Your doctor will also recommend some lifestyle changes that may include:

•  Check your blood pressure (or have it checked) as often as possible. Keep a chart of the readings.

•  Quit smoking.

•  Reduce the salt in your diet according to your health care provider's advice.

•  Starting an exercise program that you can do regularly. Research as shown that just walking for 30 minutes, 3 times a week can have a significant effect on lowering blood pressure.

•  Lose weight if you need to.

•  Limit your alcohol, and caffeine intake.

•  Find ways to reduce the stress in your life.

2. Secondary Hypertension
Secondary hypertension is elevated blood pressure that results from an underlying, identifiable, often correctable cause. In most cases, secondary hypertension is caused by disease, medication, or hormonal problems.

Some of the causes Secondary Hypertension include:

•   Narrowing of the arteries in the kidneys

•   Narrowing of the aorta, a large blood vessel that supplies blood to the lower body

•   Several types of kidney disease

•    Excess secretion of a hormone called aldosterone from the adrenal gland

•    Tumor of the adrenal gland

•    Cushing's syndrome, a disorder in which there is too much corticosteroid hormone in the blood

•    Medicines such as estrogen and oral contraceptives

•    Abuse of drugs such as amphetamines, alcohol, or diet pills

•     Pregnancy.

How Is It Treated?
Most of the conditions that cause secondary hypertension cannot be prevented. However, regular checkups can help detect many conditions before they become serious, including those that can result in high blood pressure.

Secondary hypertension is treated by treating the condition causing the high blood pressure. For example, if you have high blood pressure caused by kidney disease, then by treating the kidney disease, it is most likely that your blood pressure will be normalized.

High blood pressure is a very serious condition that can lead to devastating complications. While trying to pinpoint what causes high blood pressure may be hard to do in over 90 percent of cases, we know the  contributing factors that put us at risk for having it. The most effective ways to lower blood pressure are by eliminating or decreasing those risk factors.