This has been found to be just as dangerous as diastolic hypertension. Only five percent of high blood pressure has a known cause, usually related to kidney disease. In about a quarter to half the people with high pressures, hypertension is linked to an excessive sensitivity to salt, in others, it is triggered by excess alcohol. Two ounces of alcohol a day will put up your blood pressure and keep it up. Foods containing potassium may be protective.
Obese individuals are likely to be hypertensive.
Then too your vascular plumbing becomes harder with age. Blood vessels are less resilient so they don't stretch with the heart's output. Firstly and most dangerous, is the occurrence of strokes. Hypertension also causes the heart pump to fail and fluid accumulates in the body. High blood pressure contributes to the occurrence of heart attacks.