The dangers of high blood pressure

Taking care of your blood pressure is one of the most effective ways to ensure the rest of your body is healthy. Here's a simple guide to the risks of high blood pressure:

The threat to your health from high pressure is due to the damage pressure causes to arteries and smaller blood vessels, particularly to those in organs such as the eyes, kidneys, brain and heart. These vessels are not designed to withstand high levels of pressure and become more muscular, a process called hypertrophy. Though the organ's vessels get bigger overall to handle increased pressure, the space (or lumen) within them narrows, making it harder for blood to flow and making the heart work harder. This further increases blood pressure, a dangerous cycle leading to kidney failure, heart attack or stroke. Here's a short primer on the conditions strongly linked to hypertension:

• Hardening and narrowing of the arteries caused by slow buildup of plaque on the inside of artery walls.
• It can lead to several serious medical conditions, including coronary artery disease, angina, heart attack, sudden death, stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIA), or mini-strokes.

• All diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels.

• Coronary artery disease occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (coronary arteries) become hardened and narrowed due to the buildup of plaque on their inner walls (atherosclerosis), reducing blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle.
• This lack of oxygen decreases the ability of the heart to pump at full capacity when doing more than basic activities.
• Symptoms include chest pain (angina) and shortness of breath when under exertion.

• This occurs when the supply of blood and oxygen to an area of the heart muscle is blocked, usually by a clot in a coronary artery.
• Unless the blockage is treated within a few hours, the affected heart muscle dies and is replaced by scar tissue.

• This condition develops over time as the heart has increasing trouble pumping blood throughout the body.
• Also known as congestive heart failure (CHF).

• There are two main types of stroke:  ischemic stroke, when something suddenly blocks the blood supply to an area of the brain; and hemorrhagic stroke, when a blood vessel in the brain bursts.
• Both lead to the death of brain cells as oxygen is cut off, resulting in temporary or permanent neurological damage or death.
•  A transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke, is technically not a stroke but rather a temporary neurological deficit.
• It's caused by an interruption of the blood supply to an area of the brain and should serve as a warning sign:  about one-third of those who have a TIA will go on to have an acute stroke.

• People with hypertension are more likely than those with normal blood pressure to experience dementia as they age.
• Although we don't know all the reasons for the connection, one theory is that over time, hypertension decreases the elasticity of blood vessels in the brain, increasing resistance and reducing their responsiveness.

• Uncontrolled hypertension is the second leading cause of chronic kidney disease (diabetes is the first).
• It speeds the deterioration of kidney function to where life-saving measures, such as dialysis or kidney transplant, are needed.

• Constant high blood pressure can damage the lining of the blood vessels, increasing the rate at which plaque accumulates (atherosclerosis), narrowing the vessels and reducing blood flow.

• High blood pressure affects the blood vessels on the inner surface of the eye much as it affects blood vessels in the heart or kidneys.
• A burst blood vessel in the eye can lead to blurred vision or blindness.

As you can tell, there are some pretty scary health risks related to high blood pressure. The best thing you can do to prevent these is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and regular blood pressure.