High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” because most people who have it don’t have any symptoms. And that silence can be deadly....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The higher your blood pressure levels, the more risk you have for other health problems, such as heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease.
And with our schedules getting busier and lifestyles getting worse, we really need to be careful in order not to fall prey to this most common health issue. Here, in this article, are some everyday habits that can lead to high blood pressure.
1. Eating Too Much Salt
Salt makes your body hold onto water. If you eat too much, the extra water in your blood means there is extra pressure on your blood vessel walls, raising your blood pressure.
If you already have high blood pressure, too much salt will raise it further, and may mean that any blood pressure medicines you’re taking won’t work as well as they should.
2. Overdoing It On Alcohol
Drinking a lot of alcohol can affect the muscles in your blood vessels. This can cause them to become narrower. When your blood vessels are narrower, the heart has to work harder to push blood around your body. This makes your blood pressure go up.
3. Overindulging In Sugar
Sugar can increase your blood pressure in several ways. Research indicates that sugar and especially sugar-sweetened drinks contributes to weight gain in adults and children. Overweight and obesity increases the chance of having high blood pressure.
4. Sitting Down For Long Periods
Recent studies have shown that extended sitting during the day can increase blood pressure, which is a key risk factor for heart disease. When you sit for long periods, your body burns less fat due to muscle inactivity, and your blood flow is also reduced.
5. Stressing Out
Although, there’s no proof that stress by itself causes long-term high blood pressure. However, your body produces a surge of hormones when you’re in a stressful situation. These hormones temporarily increase your blood pressure by causing your heart to beat faster and your blood vessels to narrow.
6. Smoking
Smoking causes an acute increase in your blood pressure (BP) and heart rate, narrows your arteries and hardens their walls, and makes your blood more likely to clot. It stresses your heart and sets you up for a heart attack or stroke.
7. Lack Of Physical Activity
Not getting enough physical activity can lead to high blood pressure, even for people who have no other risk factors. It can also increase the likelihood of developing other heart disease risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.
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