What causes these two diseases? -

Hypertension (high blood pressure) and High cholesterol. And please don t use too many big words or long paragraphs, thats why I m asking, coz Wikipedia was too confusing! Just a summary of what causes each is fine thanks ;)

Neither of these is a disease. They are conditions. Hypertension runs in families so it can be a genetic tendency. Other causes include racism, stress, alcohol, kidney disease, kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, smoking, too much salt (sodium) in the diet, being a couch potato, older age, disorders of the adrenal gland or thyroid gland. Sometimes there s no determined cause. This type of hypertension is called idiopathic or primary hypertension. When hypertension is a result of another condition, such as diabetes or obesity, it s called secondary hypertension. The primary condition is the one causing the hypertension. High cholesterol is called hypercholesterolemia. It means a lot of cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol is a substance that our bodies produce naturally. Some people produce more than others and it may be due to hereditary factors. Although some medications and diseases can raise cholesterol, hypercholesterolemia is usually a result of a high-fat diet and inherited risk factors. Heredity influences how fast cholesterol is made and removed from the blood. Other risk factors that can cause hypercholesterolemia are obesity, stress, being a couch potato, age, gender and alcohol.

They actually run hand in hand. High cholesterol is caused by fatty stuff (plague) similar to the stuff on our teeth building up in our blood vessels. Think of it like this, if there is grease, butter or fattty substance that is solid at room temperature it is going to cause a build up in your veins. This is bad cholesterol. It is is liquid at room temperature is will move through your body easily. Hypertension can be cause by high cholesterol, heart disease, stress, or simply inherited. If cholesterol is high enough the cholesterol can slow blood flow in the body causing a back pressure leading to higher blood pressure. Chronic stress, smoking, chronic alcohol abuse (over drinking) can also lead to hypertension and some medications can. Basically anything that causes the blood to build up pressure in the body causes hypertension. I hope this helps. :)

it runs in the family eating the wrong foods. not enough exercise smoking drinking alcohol