3 main causes of high blood pressure

1. What is the exact principle of the increase in blood pressure caused by salt?

• The main component of salt is sodium chloride. Sodium and chloride ions are found in the extracellular fluid. Potassium ions are normally found in the intracellular fluid acting to maintain homeostasis. With an increase in sodium and chloride ions, the extracellular fluid increases due to changes in osmotic pressure, the resulting water, and sodium retention, the increase in intercellular fluid and blood volume, along with an increase in return blood volume, ventricular filling volume, and output, and an increase in blood pressure. 
• In the extracellular fluid sodium ions increase, the concentration gradient of sodium ions inside and outside the cell increases, so that the intracellular sodium ions increase, and the intracellular sodium ions increase, which leads to cell swelling, and the smooth muscle cells of small artery wall swelling, on the one hand, can narrow the lumen and increase the peripheral resistance; on the other hand, the small artery wall reacts to the blood constricting substances (such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, angiotensin) increase, leading to Small arteries spasm, and then the resistance of small arteries throughout the body increases, prompting an increase in blood pressure.

Salt restriction is beneficial, both from the perspective of treatment and prevention of hypertension patients.

Data on the relationship between salt and hypertension worldwide show that salt intake and sodium urinary excretion (an indirect response to sodium intake) are positively correlated with hypertension, that is, the higher the salt intake, the higher the blood pressure level. For patients with hypertension, salt restriction can be helpful. It has been proven that in the early stages of hypertension or mild hypertension, salt restriction alone can bring blood pressure back to normal. In severe hypertension, restricting salt intake not only improves the efficacy of other antihypertensive drugs but also leads to a reduction in the dose of antihypertensive drugs, which can greatly reduce the side effects of antihypertensive drugs and drug costs.

People only need 0.5 grams of sodium chloride per day to meet their physiological needs, but in fact, the daily salt intake of people in daily life is more than 10 grams. According to the data, the average blood pressure level of the population is related to salt, and the incidence of hypertension is high in areas with high per capita salt intake. Areas with low per capita salt intake have a low relative incidence of hypertension. It should be noted that only 1/3 of patients with hypertension experienced a decrease in blood pressure after strict salt restriction, indicating that there are two types of hypertensive patients, salt-susceptible and non-salt-susceptible and that the increase in blood pressure due to excessive salt intake is mainly reflected in salt-susceptible individuals.

2. There is an indirect relationship between hypertension and weight. 

It can be said that weight affects the incidence of hypertension. The excess fat in the body of people with high body weight is large, and the distribution of a large amount of fat in the vascular parts of the body and heart parts gives rise to local vascular compression or compression, which can easily make the blood circulation abnormal and cause abnormal blood pressure.

Overweight, obesity is one of the important causes of hypertension.

The incidence of hypertension in obese people, significantly higher than in lean people, and the degree of obesity of a person is proportional to the incidence of hypertension, it can be said that half of the people who have more than moderate obesity will get hypertension, and obese people have a greater chance of suffering from hypertension compared to their normal-weight peers, the impact of obesity on hypertension, is through increased blood volume load, the insulin resistance, changes in peripheral resistance vessels, the renin-angiotensin system in the body, changes in atrial natriuretic hormones, and differences in steroid hormones, all of which play an important role in the development and exacerbation of hypertension. Obese people have thicker subcutaneous fat, which will make the capillaries expand greatly and increase blood volume, and the blood circulation volume also increases relatively, thus increasing the blood volume load, and the heartbeat out volume increases greatly under the normal heart rate, and the heart and blood vessels are overburdened for a long time, which will induce the left heart hypertrophy and lead to the increase of blood pressure.

Weight and hypertension show a clear relationship

Excessive weight gain indicates that the patient's fat content is relatively high, this population is easy to lead to primary hypertension, and like men's waist circumference > 90cm, women's waist circumference > 85cm, is also related to obesity hypertension. For people with hypertension, if their weight is excessively high, they must actively control their weight. Generally speaking, the body mass index is recommended to be below "24kg/m2", which is the minimum standard and does not meet the standard of overweight. Patients should also actively control their weight, generally by limiting dietary intake and exercising appropriately, and they must keep their blood pressure within a good range before exercising.

3. Long-term alcohol consumption is prone to cause hypertension.

Alcohol has a vasodilating effect. Many people say that drinking alcohol relaxes the mind, and many people's emotions are soothed after drinking alcohol, in which case it will make our blood pressure lower to some extent. What is the reason for this? Is it possible that drinking alcohol can lower blood pressure? It is not true.At the beginning of drinking alcohol, the arteries of the whole body expand and the blood volume relatively decreases, and at this time, the blood pressure is often measured to below. Although the heart rate increases and cardiac output increases, the resulting increase in blood pressure is not enough to offset the vasodilating effect. However, the vasodilating effect of alcohol is not long-lasting, and thereafter, blood pressure gradually returns to its previous state. The use of alcohol in this way to lower blood pressure is unreliable, and drinking alcohol can only briefly relieve our inner emotions.

The dangers of alcohol abuse are even greater, such as somatic symptoms and psychiatric symptoms. Alcohol abuse by patients can lead to various diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, gout, etc. It affects the health of the patient, especially the damage to the patient's body, which may further aggravate the patient's somatic diseases.

In addition, long-term heavy alcohol abuse can also lead to psychiatric problems, especially after alcoholism, such as agitation, temper, tremors, thirst for alcohol, and other symptoms of dependence, in addition, after withdrawal often appear physical discomfort, such as tremors, sweating, or hallucinations, delusions and other content, therefore, in clinical alcoholism is very large social problems, psychological problems.

Studies have shown that one glass a day is good for the heart and also raises the level of a type of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the body called benign cholesterol, but this beneficial protective effect immediately disappears once you drink more than two glasses of alcohol. So make sure you control it and don't get greedy.

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