Headaches and Hypertension
by Tonya Breaux-Shropshire, PhD, DNP, FNP, MPH- When you have a headache, the first thing you might think is that your blood pressure is elevated. Actually, research has shown that severe blood pressure (sbp>179, or dbp> 120) is likely the culprit of a headache, not mild elevations. What Causes Headaches There are primary and secondary headaches, and the majority of headaches are primary only 1% are secondary. Primary headaches are usually caused by a combination of lifestyle triggers, genetics, and developmental or environmental risk factors. However, secondary headaches are caused by something else: intracranial pressure or bleeding, inflammation in the brain or spinal cord, inflammation of the lining of your arteries in your head, tumor, or other things. Common Headaches The most common types of headaches are migraines, clusters, or…