Can Hypertension Cause Other Problems
When your blood pressure is high for too long, it damages your blood vessels and LDL cholesterol begins to accumulate along tears in your artery walls. This leads to narrowed arteries and increases the workload of your circulatory system while decreasing its efficiency.
As a result, high blood pressure puts you at greater risk for developing life-changing and life-threating conditions.
High Blood Pressure Threatens Your Health And Quality Of Life
In most cases, damage done from high blood pressure occurs over time. Left undetected or uncontrolled, high blood pressure can lead to:
- Heart attack High blood pressure damages arteries that can become blocked and prevent blood flow to the heart muscle.
- Stroke High blood pressure can cause blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to become blocked or burst.
- Heart failure The increased workload from high blood pressure can cause the heart to enlarge and fail to supply blood to the body.
- Kidney disease or failure High blood pressure can damage the arteries around the kidneys and interfere with their ability to filter blood effectively.
- Vision loss High blood pressure can strain or damage blood vessels in the eyes.
- Sexual dysfunction High blood pressure can lead to erectile dysfunction in men and may contribute to lower libido in women.
- Angina Over time, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease including microvascular disease . Angina, or chest pain, is a common symptom.
- Peripheral artery disease Atherosclerosis caused by high blood pressure can lead to narrowed arteries in the legs, arms, stomach and head, causing pain or fatigue.
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Stroke And Brain Problems
High blood pressure can cause the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to burst or be blocked, causing a stroke. Brain cells die during a stroke because they do not get enough oxygen. Stroke can cause serious disabilities in speech, movement, and other basic activities. A stroke can also kill you.
Having high blood pressure, especially in midlife, is linked to having poorer cognitive function and dementia later in life. Learn more about the link between high blood pressure and dementia from the National Institutes of Healths Mind Your Risks®external icon campaign.
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Staying Healthy And Reducing High Blood Pressure
If youre diagnosed with high blood pressure after a stroke, it may come as a shock. Many people with high blood pressure need to take long-term medication and make some healthy lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of another stroke or transient ischaemic attack .
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, so you probably wont feel any different when youre taking medication. But medication is highly effective at lowering your blood pressure and reducing your risk of a stroke.
Small change: big reduction in stroke risk
If you can lower your blood pressure by just 10 mmHg, you cut your risk of stroke by over 25%.
Secondary High Blood Pressure
Some cases of high blood pressure are the result of underlying factors or cause and this is known as secondary high blood pressure.
Underlying factors include:
- kidney conditions, such as a kidney infection, or kidney disease
- narrowing of the arteries
- hormonal conditions, such as Cushing’s syndrome
- conditions that affect the bodys tissue, such as lupus
- medication, such as the oral contraceptive pill, or the type of painkillers that are known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as ibuprofen
- recreational drugs, such as cocaine, amphetamines and crystal meth
Occasionally, a rise in blood pressure can result from taking herbal remedies, such as herbal supplements.
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Your Best Protection Is Knowledge Management And Prevention
- Know your numbers. The best way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked.
- Understand the symptoms and risks. Learn what factors could make you more likely to develop high blood pressure and put you at risk for serious medical problems.
- Make changes that matter. Take steps to reduce your risk and manage your blood pressure. Make heart-healthy lifestyle changes, take your medication as prescribed and work in partnership with your health care professionals.
What Causes High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure usually develops over time. It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity. Certain health conditions, such as diabetes and having obesity, can also increase the risk for developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure can also happen during pregnancy.
You can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems that may affect your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
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Regular Blood Pressure Checks For Over Over 40’s
The only way to find out whether you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked regularly. Ask your GP when you are next due for yours to be checked.
Blood pressure checks are usually available on request at most GP surgeries and health clinics. Some surgeries have home monitoring devices available, which you may be able to use at the time of blood pressure medication start up or change. Many also have a policy of arranging regular checks for you.
Adults who are over 40 and have not been diagnosed with high blood pressure should have their blood pressure checked at least once every five years. However, your blood pressure should ideally be checked more frequently, particularly if you have any contributory risk factors.
Symptoms In Teens And People In Their Early 20s
Teenagers can develop high blood pressure due to obesity or an underlying medical condition.
Possible medical factors
- endocrine disease, which affects the hormones
- vascular disease, which affects the blood vessels
- a neurological condition
These conditions may have symptoms of their own.
The symptoms of high blood pressure, if they occur, will be the same as for other groups.
A 2021 study notes that, while death rates from cardiovascular disease have fallen among older adults, the reduction has been less dramatic in those aged 1839 years. The author suggests there are lower rates of awareness, treatment, and management of high blood pressure in those aged 2039. With this in mind, they call for more effective identification of high blood pressure in these age groups to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems later in life.
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The Top 10 Risk Factors For High Blood Pressure Include:
Being overweight or obese
The more you weigh the more blood flow you need to supply oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. As the volume of blood circulated through your blood vessels increases, so does the pressure inside your arteries.
Too much salt in your diet
Too much sodium in your diet can cause your body to retain fluid, and also causes the arteries in your body to constrict. Both factors increase blood pressure.
Too little potassium in your diet
Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells. Potassium causes the smooth muscle cells in your arteries to relax, which lowers blood pressure.
Not being physically active
Exercise increases blood flow through all arteries of the body, which leads to release of natural hormones and cytokines that relax blood vessels, which in turn lowers blood pressure. Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of being overweight.
Drinking too much alcohol
Having more than two drinks per day can cause hypertension, probably by activating your adrenergic nervous system, causing constriction of blood vessels and simultaneous increase in blood flow and heart rate.
Stress
High levels of stress can lead to a temporary, but dramatic, increase in blood pressure. If you try to relax by eating more, using tobacco or drinking alcohol, you may only exacerbate problems with high blood pressure.Relaxation and meditation techniques effectively lower blood pressure.
Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs
High Blood Pressure And Stroke
Whats blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. Its recorded as two numbers systolic pressure over diastolic pressure . Learn more about blood pressure readings or watch an animation of blood pressure.
Whats high blood pressure? High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is when blood running through your arteries flows with too much force and puts too much pressure on your arteries, stretching them past their healthy limit and causing small tears. Our body then kicks into an injury-healing mode to repair the tears with scar tissue. But the scar tissue traps substances that make up plaque and can lead to blockages, blood clots, and hardened, weakened arteries.
Several factors can increase your risk of high blood pressure, including family history, age, lack of physical activity, poor diet, gender-related risk patterns, obesity and drinking too much alcohol. Learn more about high blood pressure risk factors.
Why manage blood pressure?
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can injure or kill you. Its called the silent killer because it has no symptoms. Many people dont know they have it, so it’s very important to get your blood pressure checked regularly.
Blockages and blood clots limit blood to vital organs, and without blood, the tissue dies. Thats why high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, and heart failure.
How do you reduce blood pressure?
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Know Your Risk For High Blood Pressure
Some medical conditions can raise your risk for high blood pressure, but you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.
Risk factors that can increase your risk of high blood pressure include health conditions, your lifestyle, and your family history.
Some of the risk factors for high blood pressure cannot be controlled, such as your age or family history. But you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.
How Is High Blood Pressure Treated
Your GP will advise you about reducing your blood pressure, including medication and lifestyle changes. Lowering your blood pressure, even by a small amount, can help you stay healthy.
Medication for high blood pressure
If youre diagnosed with high blood pressure and your GP thinks you are at risk of a stroke, they will recommend a medication they think will work for you.
For details about the different types of blood pressure medication available, turn to the below.
Whether youre offered medication depends on your individual risk of a stroke. Things that increase your risk include a previous stroke, heart problems, diabetes and taking certain medications.
Before starting medication you will have blood and urine tests, and you may have an electrocardiogram to check for heart problems.
If you are aged under 40 and youre diagnosed with high blood pressure, you should be referred for checks to look for the causes of your high blood pressure.
Tailoring your treatment
There are several different types of medication for high blood pressure, and we know that age, ethnicity and family history affect how they work. Other medications can also affect how they work. So your GP works with you to make sure your prescription is tailored to your needs.
Getting started with your medication
It can sometimes take a while to adjust to taking a long-term medication. You will have regular blood pressure checks, and you may be able to monitor your blood pressure at home.
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How Blood Pressure Is Controlled
When the heart contracts, the blood inside the left ventricle is forced out into the aorta and arteries. The blood then enters small vessels with muscular walls, called arterioles. The tone in the muscular walls of the arterioles determines how relaxed or constricted they are. If narrowed, they resist flow.Reduced flow of blood is detected in the brain, the kidneys and elsewhere. Nerve reflexes are stimulated and hormones are then produced. The heart is induced to beat more forcefully so that blood pressure is maintained at a higher level, to overcome the restricted flow through the arterioles. The achievement of good flow eases possible problems for function of the brain and kidneys.These adjustments occur normally. However, in some people the adjustments become fixed and high blood pressure persists. These people have developed hypertension.
What Is High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is recorded with 2 numbers. The systolic pressure is the force at which your heart pumps blood around your body.
The diastolic pressure is the resistance to the blood flow in the blood vessels.
They’re both measured in millimetres of mercury .
As a general guide:
- high blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher
- ideal blood pressure is usually considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg
Blood pressure readings between 120/80mmHg and 140/90mmHg could mean you’re at risk of developing high blood pressure if you do not take steps to keep your blood pressure under control.
Everyone’s blood pressure will be slightly different. What’s considered low or high for you may be normal for someone else.
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Quick Guide To Blood Pressure Medication
This guide can only give general information. You should always get individual advice about your own health and any treatment you may need from a medical professional such as a GP or pharmacist.
The main groups of blood pressure medication are:
- ACE inhibitors. Abbreviated from angiotensin-converting enzyme.
- Angiotensin-2 receptor blockers .
- Other types of medication.
Most People With Hypertension Feel Okay
Hypertension usually does not produce any symptoms, because the organs of the body can resist high blood pressure for a long time. Thats why its important to have regular medical examinations to make sure your blood pressure isnt creeping up as you grow older.High blood pressure over a period of time can contribute to many illnesses, including:
The effects of high blood pressure on the arteries are worsened by:
- cigarette smoking
- high levels of saturated fat in the diet
- high blood cholesterol
Responses to some types of stress may affect both blood pressure and changes in the arteries, but this remains scientifically uncertain.
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What Can I Expect If I Have This Condition
Since high blood pressure doesnt cause many symptoms at first, you probably wont feel any different with a high blood pressure diagnosis. But its important to follow your providers instructions to bring your blood pressure down so it doesnt cause serious illnesses later in life.
How long does high blood pressure last?
If you have primary high blood pressure, youll need to control it for the rest of your life.
If you have secondary high blood pressure, your blood pressure will most likely come down after you receive treatment for the medical problem that caused it. If a medication caused your high blood pressure, switching to a different medicine may lower your blood pressure.
What is the outlook for high blood pressure?
You can get seriously ill if you dont treat your high blood pressure. However, if you take the medicines your provider ordered, you can control your blood pressure. Exercising and eating healthy foods also helps lower your blood pressure.
What Medications Are Used To Treat High Blood Pressure
Four classes of high blood pressure medications are considered first line when starting treatment. Sometimes other medications are coupled with these first-line drugs to better control your high blood pressure. First-line, pressure-lowering medications are:
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors block the production of the angiotensin II hormone, which the body naturally uses to control blood pressure. When angiotensin II is blocked, your blood vessels dont narrow. Examples: lisinopril , enalapril or captopril.
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers block this same hormone from binding with receptors in the blood vessels. ARBs work the same way as ACE inhibitors to keep blood vessels from narrowing. Examples: metoprolol , valsartan or losartan.
- Calcium channel blockers prevent calcium from entering the muscle cells of your heart and blood vessels, allowing these vessels to relax. Examples: amlodipine , nifedipine , diltiazem .
- Diuretics flush excess sodium from your body, reducing the amount of fluid in your blood. Diuretics are often used with other high blood pressure medicines, sometimes in one combined pill. Examples: indapamide, hydrochlorothiazide or chlorothiazide.
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What You Need To Know About High Blood Pressure And Pregnancy
High blood pressure during pregnancy is serious and can endanger the life and well-being of both you and your baby. The condition, also known as maternal hypertension, affects nearly 15 percent of all pregnancies in the United States. Some complications of high blood pressure during pregnancy require treatment in the hospital:
Preeclampsia: Pregnancy-related high blood pressure that puts stress on the heart and other organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs, and eyes
Eclampsia: Seizures caused by high blood pressure during pregnancy
Strokes: Interruption of blood flow to the brain, resulting in weakness and permanent disability
Placental abruption: Separation of the babys blood supply from the wall of the womb
Premature delivery: The need for the baby to be born earlier than expected, before growth and development are completed in the womb
Risks Of High Blood Pressure Based On Who You Are
Family History
A family history of high blood pressure can increase your chances of getting it. If a close relative has or had HBP before the age of 60, this is an indication of a stronger history. According to the CDC, relatives tend to have similar habits such as diets, exercise, and smoking.
Gender
Until the age of 64, men are more likely to get high blood pressure than women, but with 65 years and older, women are more likely to get it.
The older you are, the more likely you are at risk of getting high blood pressure. The reason why is that our blood vessels will lose their elastic quality. But children can also develop high blood pressure. About 9 out of 10 people in the U.S. will develop HBP in their lifetime.
Race
Studies have shown that African Americans tend to develop high blood pressure more often than people of other racial backgrounds. HBP is also more severe in African Americans, and some of the medications are less effective.
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