Who Gets High Blood Pressure?

People who have family members with high blood pressure are more likely to get high blood pressure. Black people are more likely to have high blood pressure than white people. Asian people are least likely to have high blood pressure.

Some people can get high blood pressure because of a medicine or because of damage to an organ, like a kidney. Most often, the exact cause of a person's high blood pressure is not known.

High blood pressure often starts in young people (between 20 and 30 years of age). It becomes more common as people get older.