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What's The Connection Between High Blood Cholesterol And Hypertension?

High levels of cholesterol may gradually clog your arteries, which makes it more difficult for blood to flow. This increases the likelihood of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke if not controlled.

Scientists have found that when people have more than one risk factor, like high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure, these factors work together to make the risk of heart disease much higher.

Even if your cholesterol and blood pressure levels are only mildly elevated, when they are both present in your body, they can interact with each other to more quickly damage your blood vessels and your heart.

If not controlled, they eventually set the stage for heart attack and stroke, as well as other problems like kidney malfunction and vision loss.

If you're diagnosed with high cholesterol, it means that the level of cholesterol in your blood is higher than what is believed to be healthy.

Cholesterol is a type of fatty substance that your body uses to make certain hormones, produce vitamin D, and build healthy cells. Some of it is manufactured in your body, and some is absorbed from the foods you eat.

Too much cholesterol in your blood, though, may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke. The concern is that if your cholesterol is high, excess fat and other substances will stick to the walls of your arteries. Over time, this excess can create a fatty buildup, much like dirt and grime can build up inside a garden hose.

The fatty substance eventually hardens, forming a type of inflexible plaque that damages the arteries. They become stiff and narrowed, and your blood no longer flows through them as easily as it once did.

The ultimate danger is that your arteries will become so narrowed that a blood clot will block blood flow, causing a severe cardiovascular event.

Doctors use several numbers when determining the status of your cholesterol. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, these are the current guidelines:

Total cholesterol:

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol — the type of cholesterol that builds up in arteries:

High-density liproprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol — the type that helps remove cholesterol from arteries:

As to what causes high cholesterol, a number of factors may be involved. Diet, weight, and physical activity can affect cholesterol levels, but so can genes, age, and gender.

If you've been diagnosed with high blood cholesterol, you may already be taking medications to control it, and you may have made some lifestyle changes to help lower your cholesterol levels naturally.

Meanwhile, it's important to keep an eye on your blood pressure. People living with high blood cholesterol often end up dealing with high blood pressure (hypertension) as well.

The American Heart Association states that high blood pressure is when "the force of your blood pushing against the wall of your blood vessels is consistently too high."

Imagine that garden hose again. If you're out watering your small plants, you may turn the water on at low pressure so you don't damage the tender blooms. If you're watering a line of shrubbery, though, you may turn up the water pressure to get the job done faster.

Now imagine that garden hose is several years old and full of grit and grime. It's also a bit stiff with age. To get the water to come through at the pressure you'd like, you have to turn up the faucet to high. The higher pressure helps the water blast through all that gunk inside your hose so you can still use it to water your plants.

If you have high blood pressure, your heart and arteries experience a similar scenario. Because the arteries are stiff or narrowed—perhaps because of high cholesterol buildup—your heart has to work harder to pump the blood through them.

It's like your heart has to turn its faucet up to high and blast the blood through to get enough oxygen and nutrients out to all the body organs that need it.

Over time, this high pressure damages your arteries and other blood vessels. They aren't built to manage a constant high-pressure blood flow. As a result, they start to suffer from tears and other types of damage.

Those tears make nice resting places for excess cholesterol. That means that the damage high blood pressure creates inside arteries and blood vessels can actually lead to even more plaque buildup and artery narrowing because of high blood cholesterol.

In turn, your heart has to work even harder to pump blood, putting excess strain on your heart muscle.

The two conditions work together to worsen your heart, arteries, and overall health. Over time, high blood pressure and cholesterol can also cause problems in your eyes, kidneys, brain, and other organs.

Research on high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure

A study published in the Journal of Hypertension analyzed data from 4,680 participants ages 40 to 59 in 17 different areas of Japan, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

They looked at blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and diet over the previous 24 hours. The results showed that cholesterol was directly related to blood pressure for all participants.

Additionally, a 2005 study in Hypertension reported that high blood cholesterol may actually predict high blood pressure.

They analyzed data from 3,110 men who had not been diagnosed with hypertension or cardiovascular disease at the start, and followed them for about 14 years. Just over 1,000 of them developed hypertension by the end of the study.

Results showed the following:

Men with the highest total cholesterol had a 23% increased risk of developing hypertension compared to those with the lowest total cholesterol.

Men who had the highest levels of total cholesterol minus HDL cholesterol had a 39 percent increased risk of developing hypertension.

Men who had the most unhealthy ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol had a 54 percent increased risk of developing hypertension.

Men who had the highest levels of HDL cholesterol had a 32 percent lower risk of developing hypertension.

The same researchers did a similar test on women with a follow-up of about 11 years and found comparable results. Their study was published in JAMA.Healthy women with higher levels of cholesterol were more likely to develop hypertension down the road than those with lower levels of cholesterol.

The good news is that both of these risk factors are very manageable. Medications are available that are effective at keeping both high cholesterol and high blood pressure under control. The important thing is to stay in communication with your doctor and to watch your numbers carefully.

You can also adopt lifestyle changes that can naturally fortify your heart and blood vessels and help you resist any damaging effects. Try these tips:

Don't smoke or quit smoking.

Stay active — exercise at least 30 minutes aday, and work some resistance training in two times a week.

Eat a healthy diet that includes lots of wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats like those found infish and nuts.

Avoid excess cholesterol in food, excess fattyfoods, excess sodium, and excess sugar.

The Exact Food We Should Eat To Prevent Dementia, High Blood Pressure And Heart Issues

A diet expert has outlined the types of foods we should eat - and at what age - to help ward off high blood pressure, heart issues, dementia and other serious health conditions.

Dr Federica Amati, a top nutrition scientist, appeared on ITV show This Morning and explained that 'superfoods' aren't one-size-fits-all and could be ineffective if consumed at an inappropriate age. She said: "What foods make us really healthy and nourish us does change as we age. Often we have this idea that a fixed diet is what we need to stick to for the rest of our lives and I'm trying to connect to the idea that we actually evolve and we change."

She added: "Our physiology changes and so different foods support us in different ways at different life stages and embracing that change instead of trying to resist it and saying 'Why can't I eat the same things? ' 'Why can't I feel as good as when I ate this 10 years ago'."

She further added: "We know from global data looking at hundreds of thousands of people that actually the risk factors that are associated with food and health, it's not so much eating too much red meat or eating too much saturated fat, it's eating not enough of wholegrains, not enough legumes, not enough nuts and seeds and not enough fruit."

Emphasising the need for a fuller plate, Dr Amati explained: "The data is really clear that what we're missing is adding these foods onto our plates. Focus less on what you can't eat and focus more on adding food to your plate."

Dr Amati provided a guide about optimal meal choices for different ages, reports the Mirror. More details are given below.

For those in their 40s, both men and women

Dr Amati said: "There is an idea that healthy eating always comprises lots of fruit and vegetables - we don't get enough of those anyway as a nation. But there are specific foods that are really helpful for specific outcomes. In our 40s women are often starting to feel the effects of postpartum so having children that nutrient depletion that does take place and frankly being quite tired. And also experiencing the beginnings of perimenopause.

"Eating really rich leafy greens like this support lots of micronutrient content - help us feel better and support our gut health. In men what we need to be really mindful about preventing heart disease.

"Men are at higher risk of heart disease. Now these colourful beetroots and dark black beans and aubergines all contain polyphenols which are these helpful plant chemicals that really protect our vascular system and our heart health." She pointed out that such food was high in volume and nutrient density, with plenty of protein and polyphenols.

Men and women in their 50s

The expert urged people to 'go even harder' in their efforts to stave off illness. She said: "Women are typically post menopausal in their 50s, we know that colourful berries like blackberries and blueberries really help with managing symptoms. "

She advocates for a diet rich in colourful vegetables to alleviate menopause symptoms. For men, she recommended vibrant, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower for heart health and cholesterol reduction, and praised oats as well. She suggested swapping out butter and lard for extra virgin olive oil in all cooking.

Men and women in their 60s

Dr Amati warned: "[In the] 60s unfortunately we start to see a rise in deaths. It's when we start to see a rise in these diet related diseases. Cancers, heart disease, strokes.

"We can prevent these, not all of them but a lot with our diet. " She highlighted the benefits of potassium-rich foods for hypertension - recommending avocados, fruits, wholegrains and beans.

Men and women in their 70s

The expert added: "We don't talk about this age enough. They absolutely need to watch how they're eating and make sure they're having three nourishing meals a day. Our hunger levels start to go down so we're less sensitive to hunger in this age group."

What people need to eat are nourishing soups and stews with lots of fluids in them, grapes and she advised having kefir, saying: "It supports your gut health but it's also higher in protein and other essential nutrients."

She also endorsed nuts and oily fish for their Omega 3 content, which is beneficial for brain power.

Counties With The Highest Rates Of High Blood Pressure In Pennsylvania

Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest rates of high blood pressure in Pennsylvania using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Counties with the highest rates of high blood pressure in Pennsylvania Updated Apr 25, 2024

Nearly half of Americans live with high blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, contributed to nearly 700,000 deaths in 2021 and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Stacker used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine the counties with the highest rates of high blood pressure in Pennsylvania as of 2021. Ties are broken by the share of the population on blood pressure medication. For counties that ranked in the top 200 nationally, their national rank for high blood pressure prevalence is also included.

The Southeast has the highest rates of high blood pressure. Racial disparities underscore these geographical trends, as about 40% of Black people across the U.S. Have high blood pressure. Social determinants of health, including access to health care and fresh foods, have contributed to higher rates.

Guidelines for doctors have also limited the types of high blood pressure medication available to Black patients, a paradigm which is now starting to shift as recent studies have pointed out the flaws of race-based prescribing for hypertension.

Photo Illustration by Stacker // Canva State-level statistics Updated Apr 25, 2024

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology in 2017 updated high blood pressure guidelines for the first time since 2003. Any reading of 130/80 and above is now considered hypertensive.

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers: systolic and diastolic pressure. The systolic reading examines the arteries when the heart is beating, while the diastolic reading examines them while the heart rests. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80.

Diet is a major driver of high blood pressure, with salty foods and low-potassium diets connected to hypertension. Other lifestyle choices play a part, too, including drinking and smoking. The CDC says heredity also likely plays some role in hypertension risk.

For people who have hypertension, limiting high-risk foods and behaviors, taking medication recommended by doctors, and regularly monitoring their blood pressure with a cuff can prevent more severe incidents.

Read on to see the counties in Pennsylvania with the highest rates of hypertension.

Emma Rubin // Stacker #25. Carbon County Updated Apr 25, 2024

- Adults with high blood pressure: 30.1%

- Adults on medication for high blood pressure: 18.0% (59.9% of those with high blood pressure)

Canva #24. Greene County Updated Apr 25, 2024

- Adults with high blood pressure: 30.1%

- Adults on medication for high blood pressure: 18.1% (60.0% of those with high blood pressure)

Canva #23. Clinton County Updated Apr 25, 2024