> Navigate

High blood pressure complications

Blood pressure is created by your heart pushing the blood through your arteries and results in resistance created by the walls of your blood vessels. The play between the pressure generated by your heart and the resistance of the blood vessels determines your blood pressure level.

Normal blood pressure is a reading of 120/80mmHg. Readings above that, up to 129/85, are called Pre-Hypertension, which may carry the same risks as established hypertension, but is unlikely to cause organ damage if treated promptly.

A consistent blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher is considered high blood pressure, or hypertension, which is the correct medical term. Malignant hypertension is a reading of ≥ 180/110, and is a medical emergency.

Hypertension may be due to an underlying disorder, such as Renal Artery Stenosis, but in the vast majority of cases, no cause is found. This is called Essential hypertension.

High blood pressure is called the silent killer because it usually has no symptoms. Some people may not find out they have it until they have trouble with their heart, brain, or kidneys. This means that that the hypertension has caused damage to these organs, and this may not be reversible.

Some of the most common complications of high blood pressure are:

Heart attack - High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack. The arteries bring oxygen-carrying blood to the heart muscle. Hypertension causes an increased workload on the heart, as it continues pumping again st resistance. The heart muscle soon enlarges, and its oxygen requirements therefore increase. If the heart cannot get enough oxygen, chest pain, also known as "angina" can occur.

Hypertension is also associated with coronary artery disease, which can cause the flow of blood to the heart to be compromised. If the flow of blood is blocked off, a heart attack results.

Stroke - High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for stroke. Very high pressure can cause a break in a weakened blood vessel, which then bleeds into the brain. This can cause a haemorrhagic stroke. If a blood clot blocks one of the narrowed arteries, it can cause an ischaemic stroke.

Kidney failure - Your kidneys play a vital role in your body, ridding it of toxins and helping to control fluid levels. Consistently elevated blood pressure damages the arteries in the body, especially the small arteries, such as in the kidneys - they become thickened and narrowed. This reduces oxygen supply to the kidneys. It also reduces the amount of blood which can be brought to the kidneys for filtering.

Arteriosclerosis - Your blood vessels are meant to be flexible and supple, but hypertension eventually curtails this. Like a rubber band that is permanently stretched, they lose their elasticity. Your blood vessels then develop arteriosclerosis and become clogged, or they can rupture.

Eye disease - High blood pressure can eventually cause blood vessels in the eye to burst or bleed. Vision may become blurred or otherwise impaired, which can result in blindness.

Congestive heart failure - Hypertension causes your heart to work much harder than it should because it has to overcome the increased blood pressure and peripheral resistance. Like any muscle that increases in size with use, the heart increases in size. Left untreated, this eventually leads to the left ventricle of the heart increasi ng in size. Because the coronary arteries do not enlarge to keep up with the increased muscle mass, they eventually cannot supply enough blood to the heart muscle, which is then relatively starved of oxygen. This may ultimately lead to congestive heart failure.

Diabetes - Hypertension is a risk factor for the development and worsening of many diabetes complications, and likewise having diabetes increases your risk of developing high blood pressure.

Preeclampsia - High blood pressure can be a sign of preeclampsia, a pregnancy-related problem that can become life-threatening.

Metabolic syndrome - The Metabolic syndrome is not a recognized complication of hypertension, but does have hypertension as one if its features, which include too much fat around the waist, elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, and more - all increasing your risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes

Erectile dysfunction - High blood pressure is associated with widespread arterial disease. Small arteries tend to be affected first, but this may go unnoticed, except in the penile arteries. Here, any decrease in blood supply can cause erectile dysfunction, ED. Today it is recognised that ED is an early sign of arterial disease and should therefore be treated vigorously.