Essential Hypertension Risks

Essential hypertension risks include such factors as being African American, having a family history of high blood pressure, and being overweight or obese. Other essential hypertension risks include having diabetes, being physically inactive, consuming too much salt and sodium, and not getting enough potassium.

 

Essential Hypertension Risks: An Overview

About 65 million American adults -- nearly 1 in 3 -- have high blood pressure. Essential hypertension is the most common type of high blood pressure, occurring in 9 out of 10 high blood pressure cases. With essential hypertension, the cause of high blood pressure is not known. However, there are factors that increase a person's chance of developing essential hypertension. These factors are known as essential hypertension risks. There are a number of risk factors that increase a person's chance of developing high blood pressure. Some of these essential hypertension risk factors cannot be controlled, including:
 
  • Being African American
  • Having a family history of high blood pressure
  • Being a male over the age of 45 or a female over the age of 55.
     
However, there are a number of hypertension risk factors that can be controlled, including:
 
  • Being overweight or obese
  • Being physically inactive
  • Having diabetes
  • Consuming too much salt and sodium
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Not getting enough potassium (due to not eating enough fruits and vegetables)
  • Prehypertension (that is, blood pressure in the 120-39/80-89 mmHg range).
     

Essential Hypertension Risks for African Americans

In the United States, high blood pressure occurs more often in African Americans than in Caucasians. Compared to other groups, African Americans:
 
  • Tend to get high blood pressure earlier in life
  • Usually have more severe high blood pressure
  • Have a higher death rate from stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure.
     
(Essential Hypertension Risks Continued: Page 2)
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD