High blood pressure in adults. Signs, Symptoms and Solutions. Also, can high blood pressure be a sign of pre diabetes?
When you hear high blood pressure what comes to mind. A red-faced individual looking as if he / she is about to explode. Or an image of blood gushing through your veins and arteries. That last one is pretty accurate. Your blood pressure is an indication how much pressure your blood flow creates in your arteries. It’s considered a normal range when its around 120/80 mm Hg. If its above 130/80mm Hg, its considered to be hypertension ie high blood pressure. The top number is the pressure in your arteries during a heartbeat. The bottom number is the pressure in your arteries while your heart is resting between beats.
(Quick lesson: Hypertension can be primary or secondary. Primary is often the result of factors like age, genetics, and diet. Secondary hypertension, on the other hand, is less common and usually the result of an underlying condition. )
The only way to confirm high blood pressure is through a blood pressure reading.
Despite being hard to detect without testing, it shouldn’t be ignored, as it can increase the risk of severe conditions like heart attack and stroke. (Don’t worry, there are suggestions of lifestyle adjustments later in this post.)
Here, I want to explore the common causes of high blood pressure, its links with pre-diabetes, and ways to address it.
Why is high blood pressure a problem?
Think of the water pipes in your house. The pressure in them allows water to flow to sinks, tubs, and washers. Similarly, we need pressure in our blood vessels so that blood can make its way to organs and tissues.
Just like water pipes, if the pressure is too high or too low, problems arise. Imagine using a garden hose to handle the pressure of a fire hose—that’s what happens to your blood vessels. If the pressure in your vessels is too high each time your heart contracts, damage can occur.
This damage can lead to;
· Blindness if it affects the eye vessels,
· Dialysis if it affects the kidney vessels,
· A heart attack if it affects the heart vessels,
· A stroke or Alzheimer’s if it affects the brain vessels, and peripheral vascular disease if it affects the vessels in the legs or arms.
High blood pressure affects people differently. Your risk can depend on factors like sex, age, and racial-ethnic background. For example, older women are more likely than men to suffer from high blood pressure.
What causes high blood pressure?
Other than age and genetics, lifestyle factors can be a major contributor. Fortunately, many of those are within your control.
Lifestyle contributors to high blood pressure include:
Being of higher body weight (obese or overweight.)
Getting too little physical exercise (NHS recommends 150 minutes a week.)
Overconsuming alcohol (A 2019 study suggests consuming 7-13 drinks a week can substantially increase your risk of hypertension.)
Heavy salt intake (think table salt, processed foods and ready meals)
Smoking
Overconsuming caffeine (3-4 cups of coffee a day is safe for most people, according to a 2021 study but less is best.) Especially on an empty stomach.
Taking certain medications, like birth control pills, steroids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
A lack of good-quality sleep
Underlying health conditions can also contribute to secondary hypertension. Such as:
Diabetes
Chronic kidney disease
Heart irregularities
Is it just to do with age?
You could write off high blood pressure as something that just happens when we age. Well, yes it does happen more as we age but just because something happens regularly doesn’t make it normal. High blood pressure risk increases with age because your body’s vascular system changes as you grow older. Your arteries can get stiffer, which makes your blood pressure rise.
But here’s the thing: as mentioned earlier, high blood pressure can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney disease, so it isn’t something you should simply ignore.
And the good news? There are many lifestyle adjustments you can make to improve high blood pressure — no matter your age — and I have mentioned some below.
But first..,
Can high blood pressure a sign of pre diabetes?
The short answer is yes.
High sugar intake raises insulin levels, activating the sympathetic nervous system and increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Additionally, elevated blood sugar levels can cause inflammation, damaging arteries and impacting blood pressure.
High blood sugar causes sugar molecules to stick to proteins and fats, making blood vessels stiff and narrow.
The next thing that happens is that the immune system steps in to repair inflammation and arterial damage by creating a protective layer.
This can cause problems as cholesterol in the blood vessels can stick to the damaged area, leading to plaque buildup. When this happens, blood pressure can increase even further.
High blood pressure is one of those things that creeps up on you quietly. You feel fine? That’s because high blood pressure doesn’t have any symptoms. You could be at risk without knowing it.
High blood pressure can cause damage to your heart, damage to your brain and can increase of inflammation in the body which can lead to a cascade of other concerns in the body.
What to do about it
Cutting alcohol consumption and quitting smoking are great places to start but I’m sure that’s not news to you. Other things to address are the following;
- Lose body fat (or stay lean)
Rule #1 for controlling blood pressure is stay lean. Extra fat on the body needs extra blood vessels. And fat cells produce substances that promote inflammation throughout the vessels and heart. In fact, a 2008 study found that a 1kg loss of body weight was associated with a 1-mm hg drop in blood pressure.
- Move your body
Research shows that several types of exercise can lower resting blood pressure, including aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training, dynamic resistance training, and isometric exercise training. Don’t worry you don’t need to start joining a gym etc instead find things that you like doing. Studies show that A 30-minute walk may reduce blood pressure by as much as medication. Being in nature also helps with lowering blood pressure so a walk in nature benefits you in more ways than one.
Exercise also helps to control insulin levels. Less insulin means less sympathetic nervous system activation
- Improve your nutrition
Check what you are eating. Consuming a typical Western diet can increase your blood pressure mainly due to the inflammatory foods like UPFs, ready meals and take aways that are very high in salt and added sugar. Just removing those can positively impact your blood pressure. You also find sodium in stock cubes, yeast extracts and ready mixed spices. According to a 2019 study, even moderately reducing your salt intake could lower your blood pressure.
The tricky part? Salt isn’t always easy to spot and you could be over-consuming it without even realising it. Just focusing on wholefoods diet rich in plants, low fat dairy and wholegrains should help.
Eating more plants improves your intake of arginine, lycopene, folate, fibre, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, and vitamins C and E. All of these nutrients play a role in controlling blood pressure. Plenty of Omega 3 healthy fats from oily fish can also help. Aim for X 3 week. Also flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds or walnuts are beneficial for lowering blood pressure.
- Manage stress
High blood pressure causes what’s known as shear stress in the vascular system, a force that contributes to vascular dysfunction. And when we’re feeling stressed out, this process increases.
Fortunately, good sleep can help. (More on that to come). And finding things to do that makes your relaxed. Its remarkable how many of us sometimes don’t make time for things that we just enjoy without any pressure. Deep breathing, yoga, and meditation can immediately lower blood pressure by several points. Make it a priority to chill out.
- Prioritise sleep
We all know that feeling of brain fog when we haven’t slept well. Did you know poor sleep quality can also impact blood pressure?
One of the most interesting connections between snoring and blood pressure is that if you snore you don’t get into parasympathetic rest and digest mode during the night so you remain in fight and flight, impacting blood pressure.
Good sleep hygiene habits can help. Read my blog post on it but here are a few tips:
Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day
Get some physical activity in during the day — but try not to do it too close to bedtime
Try not to eat or drink too close to bedtime either as this can disrupt your sleep too
Get natural light earlier in the day
Summary
Blood pressure can almost always be controlled with lifestyle changes. Just remember, small changes = small results. Big changes = big results.
High blood pressure isn’t always obvious but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored — or written off as just one of those things that happens as you get older.
Left unchecked it can cause damage to many parts of the body, including the heart, brain, and kidneys. Age and genetics are factors that contribute to high blood pressure, but there are many lifestyle factors that increase your risk of elevated blood pressure too.
That’s good news because it means there are lots of things you can do to reduce your risk, like consuming less processed foods, getting more exercise, and prioritising sleep.
References
Moderate Alcohol Consumption Linked With High Blood Pressure - American College of Cardiology
Coffee and Arterial Hypertension - PMC
Weight Loss and Blood Pressure Control (Pro) | Hypertension
Acute Effects of Exercise on Blood Pressure: A Meta-Analytic Investigation - PMC
The effect of walking on blood pressure control | Cochrane
Sodium Intake and Hypertension - PMC