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ELDERLY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE RISK FACTORS

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Elderly High Blood Pressure Risk Factors

Name:

International Institute of Health Care Professionals

Instructor:

Date:

Purpose: to determine the risk factors associated with the high blood pressure among elderly individuals

Audience: Elderly population

Argument: The risk factors to the high blood pressure among elderly individuals are related to lifestyle, genetic, and other preventable unhealthy behaviors.

I. Introduction: Elderly HBP risk factors

The majority of elderly people are dying of non-communicable diseases like hypertension. Hypertension is amongst the leading cause of mortality in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 Global Health Observatory (GHO), there are about 7.5 million deaths annually that occurs as a result of the high blood pressure. The elderly individuals are disproportionately affected by hypertension and this increases the risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular illnesses. The number of elderly individuals dying as a result of hypertension is increasing and this is increasing a major healthcare concern in public health. The causative factors to the increase in hypertension among elderly individuals have been associated with the changes in the lifestyle as the population is aging or some of the habits that were adopted during younger age. The age increases the prevalence of hypertension and individuals of ages 70 years and above are two times more likely to be hypertensive. The prevalence of hypertension in this age is associated with the biological effects of the increased arterial resistance as a result of the thickening as one gets older. The lifestyle behaviors and the genetic factors are majorly contributing to these events. Therefore, the individuals' lifestyle, genetic factors, and other preventable behavioral factors associated with the physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, smoking of the cigarette, obesity, diabetes mellitus, increase salt intake, advanced age, and the psychological factors (Shukuri, Tewelde, & Shaweno, 2019).

II. Physical Inactivity

Elderly individuals are not actively involved in physical activities. There is a direct link to weight gain thus increasing blood pressure.

III. Age

Age causes orthostatic hypotension among the elderly individuals and it is characterized by increased arterial resistance as a result of the thickening as one gets older.

IV. Increase in Salt Intake

The elderly individual taking a higher amount of salt increases the level of sodium in their bloodstream this interferes with the sodium balance and reduction in the ability of the kidney to remove excess water thus causing higher blood pressure due to extra fluid and strain on the blood delicate vessels.

V. Smoking of cigarette

The presence of nicotine in cigarette smoke stresses the heart and setting up for the heart attack or stroke. It narrows the arteries ad hardening the walls of the heart.

VI. Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a condition common among elderly individuals and it causes pathologic changes in the blood vessels at different locations. The result of this event is the interruption with the flow of the blood in the vessels thus exposing individuals to hypertension.

VII. Psychological factors.

The psychological factors are related to the job strain and thus increases the circulating levels of the catecholamine, increase in the level of cortisol, and increase in the blood pressure (Cuevas, Williams, & Albert, 2017).

VIII. Alcohol Intake

The drinking of too much alcohol is raising the blood pressure to an unhealthy level and this can result in a long term illness of hypertension.

References

Cuevas, A., Williams, D. R., & Albert, M. A. (2017). Psychosocial factors and hypertension: A review of the literature. Cardiology Clinic, 35(2), 223-230. Shukuri, A., Tewelde, T., & Shaweno, T. (2019). Prevalence of old age hypertension and associated factors among older adults in rural Ethiopia. Integrated Blood Pressure Control, 12, 23-31.