Precisely How Much Of A Problem Is Secondary High Blood Pressure?

Hypertension is the most diagnosed condition in the USA today and it is now estimated that it affects around seventy-two million US citizens, including one out of every three adults. But, while we are talking about hypertension, did you know that there are actually two different types of hypertension?

Most suffer from what is termed essential or primary hypertension which usually has few, or no, symptoms and often develops gradually over a number of years. A smaller, but nonetheless still significant, number of people suffer from secondary hypertension which arises out of an underlying medical condition and may sometimes present with a very rapid onset.

There are many different medical conditions which can give rise to secondary hypertension but here are several of the more common causes:

Dietary Supplements. Several readily available dietary supplements, like ginseng and St John's wort, are capable of producing hypertension.

Sleep Apnea. The constant interruption to your breathing arising from sleep apnea leads to oxygen deprivation which causes damage to the lining of the blood vessels and affects the elasticity needed within these blood vessels to control blood pressure.

Thyroid Problems. Excessive or insufficient hormone production by the thyroid gland, experienced in conditions like hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, can, either directly or indirectly, result in a rise in blood pressure.

Kidney Problems. The kidneys are composed of literally millions of tiny blood vessels and other structures which are designed to filter waste products from your blood. Whenever this filtering process is interrupted, such as in the case of polycystic kidney disease or hydronephrosis, one result is secondary hypertension.

Obesity. Gaining weight is often accompanied by an increase in heart rate, as the heart comes under pressure to pump a growing amount of blood around your body, and a consequently raised pressure on the walls of the arteries.

Naturally this list is not exhaustive and could also have included such things as prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diabetes, Cushing's syndrome, preeclampsia and more.

Hypertension, whether it is primary or secondary, is a serious medical condition which can lead to the development of other life-threatening conditions like heart disease, cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.

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