High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): Effect of modern lifestyle could make your blood pressure rise
| Nov 16, 2018, 16:37 IST
It has always been thought that high blood pressure is an inevitable consequence of ageing. However, a new study has found that a modern lifestyle might have some role in making your blood pressure rise. The researchers said that hypertension might just be a result of certain aspects of a Western lifestyle, “such as high levels of salt in the diet, lack of exercise and heavy drinking.”
The study looked into the lives of two remote tribes living around the borders of Brazil and Venezuela - the Yanomami and the Yekwana. It was found that people in these tribes had significantly low blood pressure, which did not seem to rise as they aged. Reports stated, "Although the two groups were similar in other respects, average blood pressure among the Yanomami was 95/63, whereas in the Yekwana it was 104/66.”
“[That] to us indicates that interventions to prevent the rise in blood pressure and high blood pressure need to start early in life, where we can still have the opportunity to modify some of the exposures that might lead to high blood pressure,” said a researcher. “That blood pressure rises over age is probably not a natural phenomenon, but a cumulative effect of exposure to the Western diet,” he said. “Following a healthful diet low in processed food and salt can help reduce the risk for hypertension.” Stay tuned for more updates.
The study looked into the lives of two remote tribes living around the borders of Brazil and Venezuela - the Yanomami and the Yekwana. It was found that people in these tribes had significantly low blood pressure, which did not seem to rise as they aged. Reports stated, "Although the two groups were similar in other respects, average blood pressure among the Yanomami was 95/63, whereas in the Yekwana it was 104/66.”
“[That] to us indicates that interventions to prevent the rise in blood pressure and high blood pressure need to start early in life, where we can still have the opportunity to modify some of the exposures that might lead to high blood pressure,” said a researcher. “That blood pressure rises over age is probably not a natural phenomenon, but a cumulative effect of exposure to the Western diet,” he said. “Following a healthful diet low in processed food and salt can help reduce the risk for hypertension.” Stay tuned for more updates.