Everybody will be at risk of high blood pressure, sometime during their life. It makes absolutely no difference how or why, just as long as you are aware of the risks and potential causes, otherwise you could accidentally set yourself up to have high blood pressure, later in life.

The main risks for developing high blood pressure are genetic, racial and age. People with a darker skin tone, like African Americans are far more likely to develop high blood pressure, and they usually develop the problem at an earlier age.

The older people get, the more likely you are to develop high blood pressure or hypertension. Age definitely is one of the main causes of high blood pressure. Interestingly, women are not usually prone to developing high blood pressure and hypertension until a while after their menopause, although after the menopause women do move into a high risk group. Men are always at a higher risk of developing hypertension and high blood pressure, usually between the ages of 35-50 years, and obviously the older they get the higher the risk.

Whilst you cannot control the risk factors that are genetic, there are some other measures that you can take to decrease the risk of high blood pressure and hypertension. One of the best ways to control the risk of high blood pressure is to control your weight. Obesity is one of the main causes of high blood pressure, especially if you are over the suggested optimum weight for your age and gender. Diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes affect your weight positively.

It is not just how much you eat that will contribute to obesity, but what you eat is also a big contributor. Drinking too much alcohol, consuming too much salt as well as eating too many fatty foods will make you overweight. It is best to stick to somewhere around four to six grams or less of salt per day, two units of alcohol per day for men, and one unit per day for women.

Stress is a big contributor to high blood pressure and hypertension. No matter how you feel, if you have been in particularly stressful situations i.e. a stressful job, for a long period of time, the chances are it will affect your blood pressure levels. Stress is one of the main causes of high blood pressure, so breath deeply, rest well and take a walk if you feel that you may be under too much stress.

Stress also means that you may swap some good habits to try to better deal with the situations. This may include eating fatty and sodium filled take out food, smoking or staying indoors instead of walking. It is important to keep to your good habits, as you may think that smoking or eating a take out will deal with your stress levels, but they will make it worse, and contribute to the risk of obesity.

If any one couples any of the genetic risk factors with inactivity or obesity they are in the highest risk group. We cannot stress enough how important it is for these people to keep a healthy diet, exercise and keep your alcohol and salt intake low. If you fall into the category of those who cannot control their high blood pressure risks, make sure you keep control of the other aspects of your life that may increase the risk of high blood pressure and hypertension. It is most important, above all if you are over 50 years old and male, to keep your stress levels down. High blood pressure and hypertension in the over 50s is the biggest cause of heart attacks.

Bare all of this information in mind and you are definitely on your way to becoming healthier, whilst lowering your blood pressure and decreasing the risk of hypertension.

Doctors use a very wide range of medicines and treatment in an attempt to lower the blood pressure. These medications can be dangerous, as there is no way to pre-determine which treatment is right for the individual patient. A trial and error approach is usually taken, which can mean that the wrong mixture of drugs is administered or prescribed, resulting in unwanted and sometimes dangerous side-effects.

There are many ways around having to take prescription drugs. Obviously, the more natural the better, so we are now beginning to focus on certain lifestyle changes that will decrease the risk of heart disease due to high blood pressure and/or hypertension.

If you begin with these five changes, you will feel the benefits almost instantly. Over a short period of time you will get to know other beneficial changes that you could make, as you may start to realize what foods, habits and exercises could be affecting your blood pressure.

It is always important, especially for the elderly and overweight, to consult your doctor before making some of these changes.

1. Water is a good replacement for the caffeine filled, or sugary drinks that one may drink daily. Approximately 2 liters, or somewhere around 8 and 10 glasses would be enough, each day, to cleanse and refresh your body.

2. Smoking is thought to be one of the biggest causes of high blood pressure. If you stop smoking your blood pressure levels will start to decrease in a matter of days. If you have a particularly hard time quitting, even with all of the available substitutes and medications, then at least try to halve the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day, as this will help lower your blood pressure.

3. Cardiovascular workouts are great for the heart. As the heart is a powerful muscle, it needs exercise to grow more connective tissue, which makes it much stronger and helps to keep it working just that little bit longer. It is not recommended to start a vigorous exercise regime straight away, as this could lead to a heart attack in those with particularly high blood pressure. Start off with a slow run twice a week, and lead up to more vigorous work-outs daily.

4. Altering your diet, as well as helping you to lose weight, will lower your blood pressure. 5 good sized portions of fruit and vegetables each day is the best way to increase your nutrient intake, whilst fighting high blood pressure. Decreasing the amount of salt in your diet is very important. Some say you should try to eliminate salt completely, but your body does still need salt to function properly, just do not over do it. 6g is the recommended daily allowance for salt, but if you eat lots of processed and packaged foods, be aware that they do contain “hidden” salts. This will dramatically lower the risk of heart disease.

5. One of the simplest steps you can take is to simply relax a bit. Stress is one of the worst things when you have high blood pressure, because it raises it. The worst cases are usually in sufferers that are overweight, the elderly and people with a family history of high blood pressure and hypertension. Walking, slow running, quiet meditation or just relaxing on the couch and watching the television are great ways to combat stress related high blood pressure.