Philips HF321 User Manual
Page 12
Causes and consequences of high
blood pressure
Causes of high blood pressure are, among other
things, obesity, a high cholesterol level, smoking,
excessive alcohol consumption, emotions,
excessive salt consumption, a lack of exercise,
hereditary inclination towards high blood pressure
and certain diseases such as kidney and metabolic
disorders.
In the long term, high blood pressure can lead to
reduced elasticity of the walls of arteries
(arteriosclerosis), which is one of the major
causes of cardiac infarcts, cerebral haemorrhages
and cerebral infarcts as well as kidney disorders.
Blood pressure fluctuation
The blood pressure of healthy people, but
especially that of people with high blood pressure,
fluctuates greatly. Blood pressure fluctuates in the
course of the day and in the course of the month.
The season and the temperature also have an
impact on blood pressure. Generally, a person's
blood pressure is lower when the weather is hot
and higher when it is cold.
To give an example of the fluctuations in blood
pressure that occur during the day, a graph
showing the blood pressure of a 35-year-old man
has been included.
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