Are there factors that contribute to hypertension?
Although you may not know the exact cause of your hypertension, there are several factors that may contribute to it. Some of these factors are beyond your control, but some can be controlled by changing certain aspects of your lifestyle. The factors you can’t control are: heredity, race (African Americans are more likely to have hypertension than people of other ethnic and racial backgrounds), age, and gender, (generally males are more likely to have hypertension), The factors you can affect are: obesity, lack of physical activity and exercise, sodium (salt) consumption, smoking, stress management, and alcohol consumption. Some women develop hypertension during pregnancy. If there is a history of hypertension in your family (especially pregnancy-induced), notify your obstetrician early in the pregnancy. Some women develop hypertension while on oral contraceptives. The likelihood of this increases in women who have other risk factors (e.g. family history, being overweight, or mild kidne
