The cause of hypertension is unclear, and more attention is paid to its risk factors, including genetic factors, age, and unhealthy lifestyles. Among them, 70%-80% of hypertension is related to unhealthy lifestyles. As the risk factors for hypertension gather, the risk of hypertension will increase.
For young patients with moderate to severe hypertension, if the drug combination treatment is ineffective, it should be considered whether it is secondary hypertension and whether the following diseases cause high blood pressure.
- Kidney disease: such as glomerulonephritis, chronic pyelonephritis, etc.;
- Endocrine disease: such as menopausal syndrome, pheochromocytoma, etc.;
- Cardiovascular disease: such as aortic valve insufficiency, aortic coarctation, etc.;
- Brain lesions: such as brain tumors, brain trauma, etc.;
- Sleep apnea syndrome;
- Other causes include pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome, polycythemia vera, drugs, etc.
Hypertension is a "lifestyle disease", and many daily behaviors are risk factors for hypertension.
A high sodium and low potassium diet is an important risk factor for hypertension in the Chinese population. WHO recommends that normal people consume 5 grams of sodium per day, while the average daily sodium intake of Chinese people is 8-15 grams; WHO recommends that each person consume 3.51 grams of potassium per day, while the daily potassium intake of the Chinese people is only 1.89 grams.
Overweight and obesity are important risk factors for hypertension, especially central obesity. The risk of hypertension in overweight and obese people is 1.16-1.28 times that of people with normal weight.
The prevalence of hypertension increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. About 5%-10% of hypertensive patients are caused by excessive drinking. Excessive drinking includes dangerous drinking (single drinking amount: 41-60 g for men and 21-40 g for women) and harmful drinking (single drinking amount: more than 60 g for men and more than 40 g for women).
When people are nervous, angry, frightened, depressed, anxious, irritable, etc., the sympathetic nerves in the body are excited, which increases blood pressure. Studies have shown that the risk of hypertension in people with mental stress is about 1.5 times that of normal people.
Urban residents in China (especially young and middle-aged people) generally lack physical activity, which is a risk factor for hypertension.
Other risk factors include age, family history of hypertension, combined diabetes, dyslipidemia, etc. In recent years, air pollution has also attracted much attention. Studies have shown that some pollutants in the atmosphere may be related to the onset of hypertension.