How other factors can put me at risk of disease?
High blood pressure increases the risk of potentially fatal conditions, including heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. However these conditions are often interrelated. People with high blood pressure tend to have other risk factors, such as smoking and diabetes, which further increase the risk of these conditions developing. So the more risk factors there are, the greater the risk of developing disease.
The following is a list of associated
risk factors that put you at higher risk of developing these diseases:
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Older age
- Male sex
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Diabetes (uncontrolled blood sugar levels)
- Dyslipidaemia (abnormal blood lipid levels)
- Family history of related conditions
- Previous stroke
- Other cardiovascular problems such as a previous heart attack
The table shows the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and how it is linked not only to blood pressure but the number of risk factors, such as diabetes, that you have.*
High blood pressure can have serious consequences if not addressed. In the next section we look at how you can
manage high blood pressure and help avoid potentially fatal conditions.
