If your elderly family member has just been diagnosed with high blood pressure, her first question might have been, “Why?”. There are so many possible causes for high blood pressure and these are just a few that might be contributing to your senior’s situation.
Home Health Care Bronx NY – What Causes High Blood Pressure?
A Family History of High Blood Pressure
People who have family members who had high blood pressure are more likely to develop high blood pressure, too. This is part of how hereditary factors work, but lifestyle choices can still help your senior turn things around to an extent. Just having a family history doesn’t have to mean your senior suffers the effects of higher blood pressure.
Eating the Wrong Diet for Too Long
One of the biggest lifestyle choices that can impact your senior’s health is in what she chooses to eat. If she’s chosen a diet that has a high salt content over the years or that is high in foods that are processed, she’s more likely to experience higher blood pressure levels. Making even small changes, like choosing more fruits and vegetables and less salt, can really make a difference.
Stress and Poor Stress Management
Stress takes a big toll on the human body and if your senior hasn’t managed her stress well, that can be a problem. Learning relaxation and stress management techniques can help a lot. Look into ideas like yoga and meditation to start out.
Smoking, Drinking Too Much Alcohol, or Being Inactive
One of the poor stress management choices your senior might have made over the years could have involved smoking, drinking alcohol more than she should, or being sedentary. These choices can all have a huge impact on her overall health and specifically her blood pressure. Reducing these vices, even by a little bit, is an excellent first step.
Having Other Health Issues
When someone has more than one health issue, that puts some strain on her body. Other conditions like kidney problems, diabetes, and even high cholesterol can make your elderly family member’s body work harder and can result in higher blood pressure readings. Sometimes getting those other health issues under better control can help to control the blood pressure, too.
This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means because there are multiple causes that can affect each individual person’s body differently. The best thing that you can do for your senior is to help her to embrace lifestyle changes and to monitor her blood pressure. Home health care providers are really helpful with this because they can remind your senior to test and can help her to adjust to a new way of approaching life.
