Can high blood pressure be hereditary?

Written by Chen Tian Hua
Cardiology
Updated on January 15, 2025
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Hypertension has a certain level of heritability, and research indicates that if parents have hypertension, their children’s risk of developing this condition significantly increases.

Of course, genetic factors are only one of the reasons for the development of hypertension. The presence of genetic factors does not necessarily lead to hypertension; postnatal environmental factors are also very important. Maintaining good lifestyle habits over time, including healthy dietary habits, regular physical exercise, reasonable weight control, and a positive mindset can help prevent hypertension. Moreover, even without a family history of hypertension, poor lifestyle habits can still lead to the development of the condition.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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How to treat high blood pressure?

Hypertension is a common and frequently occurring disease in clinical practice. Hypertension can cause certain damage to the body, especially long-term hypertension which can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. It is necessary to adjust the dietary structure, paying attention to a low-fat and low-salt diet. Meanwhile, according to the severity of the blood pressure, effective antihypertensive drugs should be used under the guidance of a doctor to adjust the blood pressure within the normal range, avoiding serious damage to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems, and also engaging in aerobic exercise. Mild hypertension patients can lower their blood pressure to the normal range through dietary adjustments and aerobic exercises.

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Written by Chen Tian Hua
Cardiology
43sec home-news-image

Can high blood pressure be hereditary?

Hypertension has a certain level of heritability, and research indicates that if parents have hypertension, their children’s risk of developing this condition significantly increases. Of course, genetic factors are only one of the reasons for the development of hypertension. The presence of genetic factors does not necessarily lead to hypertension; postnatal environmental factors are also very important. Maintaining good lifestyle habits over time, including healthy dietary habits, regular physical exercise, reasonable weight control, and a positive mindset can help prevent hypertension. Moreover, even without a family history of hypertension, poor lifestyle habits can still lead to the development of the condition.

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Written by Tang Li
Cardiology
1min 10sec home-news-image

What is hypertension?

Hypertension is characterized by elevated arterial blood pressure in the systemic circulation, and may be accompanied by functional or organic damage to organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys. Hypertension can be divided into primary hypertension and secondary hypertension. Secondary hypertension is due to certain identified causes or etiologies, leading to increased blood pressure, accounting for about 5% of all hypertension cases. Conditions like primary aldosteronism, pheochromocytoma, renovascular hypertension, and renin-secreting tumors are examples, and cases where the cause of increased blood pressure cannot be found are also referred to as primary hypertension and hypertensive disease. Currently, the classification and standard for blood pressure in China mostly use a systolic pressure of greater than or equal to 140 mmHg and/or a diastolic pressure of greater than or equal to 90 mmHg.

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Written by Wang Ji Zhong
Internal Medicine
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The difference between hypertensive crisis and hypertensive encephalopathy

Both hypertensive encephalopathy and hypertensive crisis involve a rapid increase in blood pressure, symptoms of headache, restlessness, nausea and vomiting, palpitations, shortness of breath, and blurred vision, with systolic pressure increasing to 200 mmHg and diastolic pressure to 120 mmHg, typically presenting similar clinical blood pressure readings. The main difference between the two is that hypertensive encephalopathy is based on excessively high blood pressure in patients with severe hypertension. Furthermore, hypertensive encephalopathy can lead to clinical signs of cerebral edema and increased intracranial pressure, whereas hypertensive crisis occurs when blood pressure suddenly rises over a short period, causing symptoms due to excessive secretion of catecholamines driven by increased sympathetic nervous excitement.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
49sec home-news-image

Which is more dangerous, low blood pressure or high blood pressure?

Blood pressure is a crucial indicator for maintaining human life. Both low blood pressure and high blood pressure can pose significant risks to the body. High blood pressure can lead to arteriosclerosis, and prolonged high blood pressure can cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, with severe cases leading to cerebral ischemia and myocardial infarction. Low blood pressure affects the blood supply to vital organs and also brings negative factors to the body. Extremely low blood pressure can also endanger human life. Therefore, whether it is low blood pressure or high blood pressure, it should be correctly treated and improved under the guidance of a doctor to ensure the health of the body.