Before we look at what causes hypertension (High Blood Pressure) we need to understand what hypertension is.

What is Hypertension?

Hypertension is a condition which arises when blood is putting a higher than normal pressure on the arteries which in turn puts more stress on the body. Your heart has to work harder now to get the blood pumped through those arteries, causing your heart to enlarge which over time damages it and leads to heart attacks, stroke, aneurysm and other heart related illnesses.

A normal blood pressure level is below 120/80. A BP between 120/80 and 139/89 is called prehypertension and a blood pressure level of 140/90 or above is what is considered hypertension. Hypertension is categorized as either essential or secondary.

Essential Hypertension is a term that is used when the cause of high blood pressure is unknown.

Secondary Hypertension is a term used when the cause of high blood pressure is known such as a direct result of kidney disease or birth control pills.

Over 90% of High Blood Pressure Sufferers including minors have Essential Hypertension.

One of the main hypertension cause is STRESS.

There are many things which you can do to prevent hypertension, amongst them being a healthy diet, losing weight if you are overweight, limiting your alcohol intake and exercising. Managing Stress is what we are going to look at into more detail in this article. It is important to keep yourself on the healthy path once you have successfully managed to bring down your blood pressure and controlling stress is a sure way of achieving this.

One of the best ways to prevent hypertension is to control stress. All of us have stress in our daily lives, it is something that we cannot prevent but it is something that we can manage and control. There are hundreds of studies done that accurately show that lowering our stress levels will keep our blood pressure low. One method of doing that is through exercise -- because not only does it strengthen your heart, it has the dual effect of reducing your stress levels.

Begin an exercise routine today and stick to it daily, whether this is a 25-30 minute walk, or bicycle ride or even running. Another helpful technique to control stress and thus preventing hypertension is through YOGA or Tai Chi. All of these concentrate on proper breathing combined with mild muscle exercising which can help us relax and distress our bodies.

Any chance you get to play with your kids or chasing your pet around your backyard - it all helps relieve stress from our bodies. Did you know that generally pet owners have a low blood pressure? That's because pets have a magical way to help lower your blood pressure - even the act of petting an animal can help lower your blood pressure.

These are just the basics you need to know about the how you can prevent hypertension and to better educate yourself to a more healthier life. However I hope that you are interested enough to know more and how to treat it successfully. Just as family doctors can't look after you 100% all the time if they are completely unaware of your everyday living, so you can't interpret their advice properly if you are completely ignorant of the nature of your high blood pressure and what can and cannot be done about it with natural remedies or drug treatments. If not your alternative is to let doctors make the decisions for you without your help or informed consent for the rest of your life.

For those that want to take learning a step further visit the link below and begin to take control of your health.

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(Article first featured on Ezine: How Can I Prevent Hypertension(High Blood Pressure)?)