What pathogen is in high blood pressure?
A pathogen is some foreign biological agent – such as a bacteria, virus, or fungi – that causes disease.
While being infected with certain pathogens may cause an increase in blood pressure due to the secondary effects of the inflammation or general irritation they may cause, the hypertension (high blood pressure) is not directly caused by the pathogen. And there is certainly no one pathogen responsible for all high blood pressure. (Indeed, many times the presence of a pathogen may cause a decrease in blood pressure.)
If you are asking for the *pathology* of high blood pressure – that is, the mechanism or cause of high blood pressure – then there are multiple potential answers.
Generally, high blood pressure is caused by high resistance to blood flow in the vessels. This may be due to the vessels being squeezed down or contracted (by drugs or stimulation, for example), or being inelastic and unable to expand properly (such as in advanced atherosclerosis, or chronic vasculitis). Increased heart activity can also increase blood pressure (adrenaline or other stresses, for instance). Simply having many small blood vessels can also lead to high blood pressure, as seen in obesity.
Although blood pressure can increase normally as part of everyday life (increased activity, adrenaline rush, etc.), chronic hypertension is often caused by poor vessel health and/or obesity. Loosing weight and eating a healthier diet are the best cures.
There are many drugs available to help deal with hypertension, and one is often advised to stay away from high salt foods, but these methods are all ways to attempt and reduce the pathologic processes from affecting the body as badly as they would otherwise. They only cover up the problem, and help to ease the burden of living with it. But they cannot completely compensate for the underlying pathology, and certainly cannot cure it. Eat well, and lose weight! You might not completely fix hypertension this way, but it has the best chance of making a difference.
