High Blood Pressure : Risk Factors

Healthline's Premium Tools

Pill Finder
Search by color, shape and markings. click here
Drug Interaction Checker
Check any 2 drugs for interactions. click here
Drug Compare
Compare any two drugs side by side. click here
Healthline Part D Plan Selector Medicare Part D
Medicare's drug plans are subsidized by the US federal government and offered through insurers.
Advertisement
Marketplace
Risk factors are conditions that increase the chance of developing hypertension. Some of these risk factors can be changed to reduce the risk of developing hypertension or to lower blood pressure: being overweight or obese lack of physical activit...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is the most commonly used drug in the world. Pharmacologically, alcohol is classified as a central nervous system depressant.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health
Alcoholism is defined as alcohol seeking and consumption behavior that is harmful. Long-term and uncontrollable harmful consumption can cause alcohol-related disorders that include: antisocial personality disorder , mood disorders (bipolar and major depression) and anxiety disorders.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Aortic coarctation is a birth defect in which the major artery from the heart (the aorta) is narrowed somewhere along its length, most commonly just past the point where the aorta and the subclavian artery meet.
Source:ADAM
Date:December 11, 2007
Coarctation of the aorta (COA) is a congenital heart defect that develops in the fetus. It involves a constricture of the aorta, the main artery that delivers blood from the left ventricle of the heart to the rest of the body.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
A defect that develops in the fetus in which there is a narrowing of the aortic arch, the main blood artery that delivers blood from the left ventricle of the heart to the rest of the body. Coarctation of the aorta is diagnosed in both newborns and adults.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Appetite-suppressant medications are drugs that promote weight loss by decreasing appetite or increasing the sensation of fullness. Obesity is a disease that affects millions of American adults, adolescents, and children, posing serious health risks.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It can be caused by too little insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas to regulate blood sugar), resistance to insulin, or both.
Source:ADAM
Date:February 8, 2007
If you have diabetes, you are two to four times more likely to have heart disease than someone without diabetes. You can control your health risks by making some changes in your life.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of glucose, a special kind of sugar. Your dietitian will probably recommend that 55 to 60 percent of your calories come from carbohydrates. There are two types of carbohydrates: complex and simple.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Even small movements can greatly improve your health. Simple activity can also boost your mental outlook. And you may spend less money on your health care. Think of it this way: Small steps may take you a long distance.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Type 1 diabetes can be controlled by taking insulin, eating a proper diet, and being active. These help your child’s body keep healthy blood sugar levels.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
When you're sick, even with just a cold, your blood sugar level may rise. Ask your healthcare team to help you develop a sick-day plan for controlling blood sugar. Here are some guidelines.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Choose carefully and cook wisely. As you shop, think about how the foods you choose will fit into your meal plan. When you cook, try to cut down on sugar and fat. If you have high blood pressure, cut down on salt as well.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the pancreas no longer produces enough insulin or when cells stop responding to the insulin that is produced, so that glucose in the blood cannot be absorbed into the cells of the body. Symptoms include frequent urination, lethargy, excessive thirst, and hunger.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a condition that occurs during pregnancy . Like other forms of diabetes, GDM involves a defect in the way the body processes and uses sugars (glucose) in the diet.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Your meal plan tells you when to eat your meals and snacks, what kinds of foods to eat, and how much of each food to eat. You don’t have to give up all the foods you like. But you do need to follow some guidelines.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Having diabetes may mean adjustments at work and in your social life. But these changes need not keep you from succeeding at work and enjoying your leisure time.
Source:StayWell
Date:June 18, 2004
Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder resulting from defects in insulin action, insulin production, or both. Insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, helps the body use and store glucose produced during the digestion of food.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Well Being
Diabetes mellitus is a condition that occurs when either the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body ' s cells stop responding to the insulin that is produced. In either case, glucose in the blood cannot be absorbed or used by the cells of the body.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Diabetes mellitus describes a group of diseases in which there is an elevated level of the sugar glucose, the body's main source of energy for cellular functions, in the blood. The level of glucose, as well as other "fuel" molecules, is increased due to a disorder in the production or function of the hormone insulin.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders Part I
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease in which the body is not able to correctly process glucose for cell energy due to either an insufficient amount of the hormone insulin or a physical resistance to the insulin the body does produce. Without proper treatment through medication and/or lifestyle changes, the high blood glucose (or blood sugar) levels caused by diabetes can cause long-term damage to organ systems throughout the body.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Gestational diabetes is a condition that occurs during pregnancy . Like other forms of diabetes, gestational diabetes involves a defect in the way the body processes and uses sugars (glucose) in the diet.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Diabetes is the Greek term for " passing through, " a phrase used to describe multiple diseases characterized by excessive urination. There are multiple forms of diabetes.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders Part II
A serious disorder caused by an absence of or insufficient amount of insulin in the bloodstream. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas in varying amounts, depending on the concentration of glucose (sugar).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Simple and small movements can get you started exercising. You don’t need to join a gym to start moving. Make it easy on yourself and you will be able to make exercising a habit. Slow, gentle, and easy is the way to begin to make exercising part of your life.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Managing diabetes means developing a routine for things like meals, exercise, and taking medication. It also means making changes in some of your activities, such as driving, to help keep you and those around you safe.
Source:StayWell
Date:June 18, 2004
Once you become more active, you may be ready to increase the pace. Choose an exercise you enjoy. Just be sure to warm up, cool down, and stay safe. And learn when it’s time to stop exercising.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Taking care of yourself means developing a routine for things like meals, exercising, and taking medication. But sometimes this routine is disrupted when you travel. Your healthcare team can help you work out a plan to prepare for unexpected situations.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
When you have diabetes, your body needs special care. This care helps you stay healthy and prevent complications. Exercise and healthy eating are a part of this. You can also protect yourself by taking special care of your feet and skin.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
The diabetes food pyramid is a tool to help you eat a wide range of healthy foods. You can use it to plan low-fat meals and snacks that include carbohydrates and protein.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Living with diabetes means making many changes in your life, and these changes may seem overwhelming. When you feel down, reach out to your family and friends, and to your healthcare team. Here are a list of other resources.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Risk factors are things that make you more likely to have a disease or condition. Do you know your risk factors for high blood pressure?
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Kidney disease is classified as any disease or disorder that affects the function of the kidneys. This may include: acute kidney failure acute nephritic syndrome analgesic nephropathy atheroembolic renal disease chronic kidney failure chronic nephritis congenital nephrotic syndrome end-stage renal disease Goodpasture's syndrome IgM mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis interstitial nephritis kidney cancer kidney damage kidney infection kidney injury kidney stones lupus nephritis membranoproliferative GN I membranoproliferative GN II membranous nephropathy minimal change disease necrotizing glomerulonephritis nephroblastoma nephrocalcinosis nephrogenic diabetes insipidus nephropathy - IgA nephrosis ( nephrotic syndrome ) polycystic kidney disease post-streptococcal GN reflux nephropathy renal artery embolism renal artery stenosis renal disorders renal papillary necrosis renal tubular acidosis type I renal tubular acidosis type II renal underperfusion renal vein thrombosis
Source:ADAM
Date:August 14, 2007
Kidney ProblemsThe kidneys may fail due to problems with their blood vessels or filtering units. Such problems may be caused by an illness that affects the whole body.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Obesity is a term used to describe body weight that is much greater than what is considered healthy. If you are obese, you have a much higher amount of body fat than lean muscle mass. Adults with a BMI greater than 30 are considered obese. Anyone more than 100 pounds overweight or with a BMI greater than 40 is considered morbidly obese.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 17, 2007
Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual ' s ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Obesity is the condition of having an excessive accumulation of fat in the body, resulting in a body weight more than 20% above the average for height, age, sex, and body type, and in elevated risk of disability, illness, and death. The human body is composed of bone, muscle, specialized organ tissues, and fat.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Obesity , defined as a body mass index of 30 or greater, is an epidemic in the United States and other industrialized nations, and it is rapidly becoming one in developing nations. As countries transition to westernized lifestyles, obesity tends to increase.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Well Being
Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual ' s ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death .
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Term describing a condition where the ratio of body fat to total body mass is higher than accepted norms. Obesity is a relative term used to describe the condition where the ratio of body fat, which is measurable, to total body mass is higher than the accepted norm.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20 percent or more over an individual ' s ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Definition and classification Pain is a universal human experience. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as " an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Pain, medically termed "nociception," is a response to noxious stimuli that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons . The discomfort signals actual or impending injury to the body.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Communicating About PainResourcesAmerican Pain Foundation888-615-7246www.painfoundation.orgAmerican Chronic Pain Associationwww.theacpa.orgThe National Pain Foundation www.painconnection.orgYou have a right to have pain treated. Untreated pain can...
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Measuring Your PainA pain scale helps you rate pain intensity. In the scale, 0 means no pain, and 10 is the worst pain possible.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by nerves in the body. Pain arises from any number of situations.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Pregnancy is the condition of having a developing embryo or fetus in the body. The union of an egg (ovum) with sperm is called fertilization, or conception, and it is this union that produces the embryo.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
A great deal of public health resources is spent on pregnancy. It is clear that prenatal and neonatal health play a large role in determining the health of a population, and in fact, pregnancy outcomes are often used as an indicator of a nation ' s health.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health
Nutrition during the preconception period, as well as throughout a pregnancy, has a major impact on pregnancy outcome. Among prepregnancy considerations, the prepregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI), folic acid status, and socioeconomic status are the most important.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Well Being
As your body changes during pregnancy, your back must work in new ways. This can be painful if your back isn’t prepared.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Learning the proper ways to bend, lift, and carry objects may help relieve back strain. It will also help you protect your back after your baby is born. Remember, if you’re having trouble protecting your back, it’s okay to ask the people around you for help!
Source:StayWell
Date:May 14, 2004
Did you know that standing, sitting, or lying in certain ways can lead to back pain? To ease pain, use positions that support your body comfortably.
Source:StayWell
Date:May 14, 2004
The weight you gain now is not just extra fat. It is also the weight of your baby. And it is the increased blood and fluids to support the baby.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
From conception (fertilization) until after the birth of your child, you and your baby will change every day. To help you understand what is happening, we’ve outlined how pregnancy begins and some of the changes you may notice.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Your health can affect your baby’s growth. Here are some ways to stay healthy.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Renal artery stenosis is a blockage or narrowing of the major arteries that supply blood to the kidneys. Renal artery stenosis occurs when the flow of blood from the arteries leading to the kidneys is constricted by tissue or artherosclerotic plaque.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
(null)
Source:ADAM
Date:March 1, 2007
Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Casual smoking is the act of smoking only occasionally, usually in a social situation or to relieve stress .
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Use of cigarettes and other tobacco products to engage in a habit that almost always leads to addiction. Every day 3,000 young people light up their first cigarette; every year a million teenagers become regular smokers.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Right away, you may cough, wheeze, and have a sore throat—that’s the tar clogging up your lungs. You may also have a headache, feel dizzy, and be nauseated—that’s the nicotine in your brain. Over time, you risk lung and throat cancer, and lung diseases like emphysema and bronchitis.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Casual smoking is the act of smoking only occasionally, usually in a social situation or to relieve stress .
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Hear the facts about smoking from those who have been doing it for a few years. Find a smoker or two. Ask a few questions. See if their answers sound something like these.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco that is used mostly in three forms: cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Casual smoking is the act of smoking only occasionally, usually in a social situation or to relieve stress.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do to keep your heart disease from getting worse. Smoking reduces oxygen flow to your heart, speeds plaque buildup, and increases your risk for heart attack.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
When you are trying to quit, the support of friends, coworkers and family members can make a big difference.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Smoking is an important and preventable cause of death and illness. However, as more money has been spent on smoking cessation programs, the incidence of cigarette smoking has risen.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Well Being
Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another. Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear. The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, which can add to the distress you feel.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 27, 2007
Stress is defined as an organism ' s total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Disturbance in the physiology of the individual. Among psychologists and psychiatrists, stress refers to a psychological reaction within the person to events that generate strong emotion that cannot be easily regulated; for other social scientists, the term stress is used to describe a disturbance in the individual ' s physiology.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Knowing the causes of your stress will help you find ways to manage it.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Ways to manage stress: Get enough sleep, follow a healthy diet and make time for yourself.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Lower your risk: Control stress. When you’re stressed, your heartbeat speeds up and your blood pressure skyrockets. The next time you feel tension taking over, sit back and look at what’s bothering you.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Over the course of evolution, the human mind and body have developed means of handling stressful situations. Over the short term, such stress response pathways are highly adaptive, allowing a person to manage his or her resources in order to navigate the crisis; in some cases, however, these processes go awry and result in pathology.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health
Definitions Stress is a term that refers to the sum of the physical, mental, and emotional strains or tensions on a person. Feelings of stress in humans result from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Stress is an individual ' s physical and mental reaction to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Anything that brings on feelings of stress is called a stressor. Today, we often face many stressors.
Source:StayWell
Date:August 14, 2003
Advertisement
Back to Top