High blood pressure is a medical condition that plagues millions of Americans. Left untreated, or even treated improperly, it can lead to serious complications. According to the American Heart Association, there is often times no single cause to hypertension but rather ‘secondary causes’. Treated properly, these secondary causes can be suppressed and your blood pressure stabilized.

Secondary high blood pressure, also known as inessential hypertension, can develop as a result of several underlying medical conditions and accounts for 5%-10% of all primary high blood pressure. Most doctors will treat secondary high blood pressure by disabling the underlying cause. It usually starts off with elevated arterial pressure, either due to an increase in cardiac output or systematic vascular resistance. Often times you treat these conditions early to deter any further complications, including heart failure, stroke, and even kidney failure.

There are several possible secondary causes that lead to high blood pressure, all of which need to be treated properly so they don’t evolve into a more serious condition. Primary hyperaldosteronism is a condition that causes a person’s blood level and arterial pressure to increase, while rennin levels decrease. It will often lead to increased circulation of aldosterone, causing renal retention of sodium and water. Renovascular hypertension results in either one or both of the renal arteries narrowing, leading to severe high blood pressure and severe kidney pressure. Hypothroidism occurs when a thyroid disorder causes the glands to not produce sufficient amounts of thyroid hormones, essentially leading to elevated blood pressure levels. Aortic Coarctation is a congenital defect that results in narrowing of the aorta, causing high blood pressure and higher arterial pressure. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder. It causes patients to stop breathing for short periods of time while asleep, and is often associated with obesity. Sleep apnea can also be caused by an airway obstruction, such as  a deviated septum, or nervous system disorders.

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