What Causes High Blood Pressure?

In the majority of people, high blood pressure causes are not known, but factors such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, or having diabetes can increase a person's risk of developing it. However, these risk factors are not the same as causes. When the cause of high blood pressure is known, this is called secondary hypertension.

What Causes High Blood Pressure? -- An Introduction

In most people, the cause or causes of high blood pressure are not known. In these cases, this type of high blood pressure is called primary, or essential, hypertension. In other people, high blood pressure is the result of another medical problem or medicine. When the cause is known, this is called secondary hypertension. (Another name for high blood pressure is hypertension.)
 

Primary (Essential) Hypertension Causes

In nine out of ten people, there is no identifiable cause of high blood pressure. This is called "primary hypertension" or "essential hypertension." Most people with primary hypertension don't even realize that they have it; they feel no different from those who have normal blood pressure. That's why high blood pressure is often called "the silent killer."
 

Causes of Secondary Hypertension

In just one out of ten people, the high blood pressure cause is known.
 This is called secondary hypertension. Conditions that can result in secondary hypertension include:
 
 
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
 
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