In a bid to have the best of everything, we sacrifice our health at the altar of materialism and the price we have to pay to enjoy these luxuries is quite high. Irrespective of the fact that we are living in the most privileged era, we lost out on the most important thing our health. A sedentary lifestyle, lavish food joints, smoking, alcohol, etc. are some of the root causes of a variety of ailments that would plague us at some point in our lives.

Your faulty lifestyle, bad choice of food, lack of exercise, etc. are the external factors that cause high blood pressure. However, there are other causes of high blood pressure that are a result of your hereditary factors or are a collateral damage caused by some disorder in your body.

Here are the internal causes of high blood pressure that can cause irreversible damage to one’s health.

Genetic structure- Researches indicate that your genetic makeup is considered as one of the causes of high blood pressure. If you have a family history of high blood pressure, chances are high that you too could be prone to the same.

Diabetes- If you are suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure would tag along with it. Diabetes targets the blood vessels and causes them to harden over time. The resultant condition is called atherosclerosis and eventually causes high blood pressure. If this condition is left untreated, it might then result in bigger problems like heart attacks, kidney failure, damages to blood vessels, etc.

Kidney disorders- High blood pressure caused by kidney disorders is also known as renal hypertension. The kidney disorder causes the arteries in the kidneys to narrow, thereby obstructing the flow of blood through the kidneys. When the kidneys receive low blood flow, it diagnoses this condition as dehydration. And thus, to combat it, the kidneys release hormones that allows the body to retain sodium and water and this additional fluid causes the blood pressure to go up.

Sleep apnea- This sleep disorder is one of the major causes of high blood pressure. While sleeping, the person experiences a sudden drop in the blood oxygen levels and this increases the blood pressure and strains the cardiovascular system.

Thyroid problems- If your thyroid secretes more thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or less thyroid (hypothyroidism), you are susceptible to high blood pressure.

Sometimes, it’s not what you eat or no matter how hard you hit the gym, you can suffer from high blood pressure that can be a consequence of some other serious ailment.