SIMPLE QUESTIONS

Who gets high blood pressure?

Anyone and everyone can get high blood pressure!
There are certain groups of people who are more at risk of developing high blood pressure.

• High blood pressure is particularly common in people over the age of 60, as blood pressure has a natural tendency to rise with age.
• High blood pressure is especially prevalent in black people, and occurs about three times more frequently in this group than in white people. This difference arises because of genetic differences between the two populations.
• High blood pressure appears to run in families, so if both your parents have high blood pressure, you too are also more likely to develop it.
• High blood pressure is very common amongst people with diabetes or kidney disease, mainly because the kidney plays a critical role in blood pressure control.
• High blood pressure can occur when you are pregnant or as a side-effect of some types of drugs (for example, the combined oral contraceptive pill).