6 signs that are risk factors for high blood pressure - but luckily they're preventable

High blood pressure is a silent killer, symptoms of which can be undetectable. But it can lead to heart attack, stroke and kidney failure, so it’s worth knowing what the six primary risk factors are when it comes to high blood pressure.

Knowing what you’re doing – or not doing – that might be contributing towards greater risk of high blood pressure can help to guide you onto a better, healthier path. Fortunately, the risk factors are pretty clear, and several of them are easily avoidable.

Signs that are risk factors for high blood pressure

The six things to look out for when estimating your personal risk of having high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association, are:

Of these, sleep apnea and diabetes are difficult to control. But the others, in theory, are remediable. The NHS adds a few more pointers to this list. If you

Then you might be more at risk of having high blood pressure, also called hypertension. But the six first bullet points may be the most instrumental in determining your level of risk.

Things you can do to prevent adding unnecessary risk of hypertension

The best treatment is prevention. If you can stop something from happening in the first place, you won’t have to fight it once it becomes too entrenched.

To this end, the NHS points its users towards the Eatwell Guide. It highlights the different foods that make up our diet, and offers guidance on how we should balance those foods in order to have a healthy diet. And you can download it for free via the UK government’s website.

Other things you can do include limiting your alcohol intake; losing weight (although as many readers will no doubt be aware, this is often easier said than done); strengthening your heart by taking regular exercise (this could be anything from aerobic sport to gardening); cutting down on caffeine; and stopping smoking.

High blood pressure can also happen as the result of an underlying health condition

As stated above, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of having high blood pressure. Hypertension is therefore, to an extent, preventable. But not all of its causes are controllable.

There are several health conditions that can cause high blood pressure. They include:

Finally, if you take any of the following medications on a regular basis, your blood pressure may be increasing as a result.

Some of the medicines that can increase your blood pressure are:

Note that this doesn’t mean anyone taking these medications necessarily has high blood pressure. It’s just that these medicines have the potential to increase blood pressure, especially if taken regularly over a long period of time.