Blood Pressure:
To Treat or Not To Treat?

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a risk factor for stroke and heart attack, as well as vascular disease. Where does hypertension come from?

Our bodies constantly seek to maintain homeostasis. This means that when one thing changes, our bodies change something else in response. The body wants to keep everything more or less the same. For example, if you eat a bag of salty potato chips, your body will note an increase in your sodium level. Your thirst mechanism will then be triggered reminding you to drink some water, which will bring your sodium level back to where it originally was. In other words, your body tries to compensate for the increased salt you ate by reminding you to drink. When you exercise, the body can send more blood flow to the muscles in your arms and legs. After you eat a big meal, the body can send more blood flow to your stomach and digestive system.

Hypertension can be hereditary, which means if people in your family have it, you are more likely to have it too. Blood pressure also increases with age, and some ethnic groups, such as African-American males are especially prone to hypertension. Smoking, drinking alcohol, and drug use also contribute to high blood pressure, and so does high cholesterol.

Hypertension can be a form of compensation, too. If you have a lot of fatty deposits in you blood vessels less blood can flow through them. If your body senses that there is not enough blood flowing to your internal organs, in particular the brain, then your body will compensate by making the blood vessels narrower in order to raise the blood pressure. When the blood pressure goes up, more blood goes to the brain. This is generally a good thing. However, if the pressure goes too high, it can cause a stroke.