High blood pressure (hypertension) can quietly damage your body for years before symptoms develop. Left uncontrolled, you may wind up with a disability, a poor quality of life or even a fatal heart attack. Fortunately, with treatment and lifestyle changes, you can control your high blood pressure to reduce your risk of life-threatening complications.
Here's a look at the complications high blood pressure can cause when it's not effectively controlled.
Damage to your arteries
Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Their inner lining is smooth so that blood flows freely, supplying vital organs and tissues with adequate nutrients and oxygen. If you have high blood pressure, the increased pressure of blood flowing through your arteries gradually can cause a variety of problems, including:
Artery damage and narrowing. High blood pressure can damage the cells of your arteries' inner lining. That launches a cascade of events that make artery walls thick and stiff, a disease called arteriosclerosis (ahr-teer-e-o-skluh-ROE-sis), or hardening of the arteries. Fats from your diet enter your bloodstream, pass through the damaged cells and collect to start atherosclerosis (ath-ur-o-skluh-ROE-sis). These changes can affect arteries throughout your body, blocking blood flow to your heart, kidneys, brain, arms and legs. The damage can cause many problems, including chest pain (angina), heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, blocked arteries in your legs or arms (peripheral artery disease), eye damage, and aneurysms.
Aneurysm. Over time, the constant pressure of blood moving through a weakened artery can cause a section of its wall to enlarge and form a bulge (aneurysm). An aneurysm (AN-yoo-riz-um) can potentially rupture and cause life-threatening internal bleeding. Aneurysms can form in any artery throughout your body, but they're most common in the aorta, your body's largest artery.
Source : mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20045868
Circulatory System
The circulatory system transports oxygenated blood throughout the body. Healthy arteries stretch slightly as blood is pumped through them. High blood pressure may cause the arteries to stretch too much, leaving them vulnerable to damage. Over time, small tears form scar tissue within the arteries.
Narrowed arteries, called atherosclerosis, can trap plaque and cholesterol, causing coronary artery disease. If the left ventricle of the heart thickens, its ability to pump blood can be severely limited. Trapped blood can result in blood clots that narrow or block arteries, causing a stroke or heart attack. Blood clots can also block the flow of blood to other vital organs. Weak or bulging arteries and blood vessels are more likely to rupture.
Chest pain (angina) and irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) may accompany high blood pressure. Chronic high blood pressure forces the heart to work harder and grow weaker, increasing the likelihood of heart failure.
Any part of the body that doesn’t receive enough oxygenated blood is at risk. Pain or numbness may be a sign of impaired blood flow to your limbs, resulting in peripheral artery disease. This increases the chance of infection or tissue death, called gangrene.
Central Nervous System
Your brain cannot function without a steady supply of oxygenated blood. Narrowed arteries or a blood clot can briefly block the flow of blood to the brain. This is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA), or mini stroke. People who have a TIA are at increased risk of a full-blown stroke, an event in which the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, causing brain cells to die. Stroke can cause severe, sometimes irreversible damage, depending on the part of the brain involved. The biggest risk for stroke is high blood pressure.
Other potential effects of high blood pressure are mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia, a brain disease caused by an interrupted blood supply to the brain. Symptoms include problems with memory, reasoning, and speaking.
Retinopathy occurs when damage occurs in the small blood vessels that bring blood to the eyes. It can cause bleeding or a buildup of fluid under the retina, which is called choroidopathy. Damage to the optic nerve (optic neuropathy) can actually kill nerve cells in the eyes. These conditions can result in impaired vision or even permanent vision loss.
Source : healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure-hypertension/effect-on-body
Here's a look at the complications high blood pressure can cause when it's not effectively controlled.
Damage to your arteries
Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Their inner lining is smooth so that blood flows freely, supplying vital organs and tissues with adequate nutrients and oxygen. If you have high blood pressure, the increased pressure of blood flowing through your arteries gradually can cause a variety of problems, including:
Artery damage and narrowing. High blood pressure can damage the cells of your arteries' inner lining. That launches a cascade of events that make artery walls thick and stiff, a disease called arteriosclerosis (ahr-teer-e-o-skluh-ROE-sis), or hardening of the arteries. Fats from your diet enter your bloodstream, pass through the damaged cells and collect to start atherosclerosis (ath-ur-o-skluh-ROE-sis). These changes can affect arteries throughout your body, blocking blood flow to your heart, kidneys, brain, arms and legs. The damage can cause many problems, including chest pain (angina), heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, blocked arteries in your legs or arms (peripheral artery disease), eye damage, and aneurysms.
Aneurysm. Over time, the constant pressure of blood moving through a weakened artery can cause a section of its wall to enlarge and form a bulge (aneurysm). An aneurysm (AN-yoo-riz-um) can potentially rupture and cause life-threatening internal bleeding. Aneurysms can form in any artery throughout your body, but they're most common in the aorta, your body's largest artery.
Source : mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20045868
Circulatory System
The circulatory system transports oxygenated blood throughout the body. Healthy arteries stretch slightly as blood is pumped through them. High blood pressure may cause the arteries to stretch too much, leaving them vulnerable to damage. Over time, small tears form scar tissue within the arteries.
Narrowed arteries, called atherosclerosis, can trap plaque and cholesterol, causing coronary artery disease. If the left ventricle of the heart thickens, its ability to pump blood can be severely limited. Trapped blood can result in blood clots that narrow or block arteries, causing a stroke or heart attack. Blood clots can also block the flow of blood to other vital organs. Weak or bulging arteries and blood vessels are more likely to rupture.
Chest pain (angina) and irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) may accompany high blood pressure. Chronic high blood pressure forces the heart to work harder and grow weaker, increasing the likelihood of heart failure.
Any part of the body that doesn’t receive enough oxygenated blood is at risk. Pain or numbness may be a sign of impaired blood flow to your limbs, resulting in peripheral artery disease. This increases the chance of infection or tissue death, called gangrene.
Central Nervous System
Your brain cannot function without a steady supply of oxygenated blood. Narrowed arteries or a blood clot can briefly block the flow of blood to the brain. This is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA), or mini stroke. People who have a TIA are at increased risk of a full-blown stroke, an event in which the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, causing brain cells to die. Stroke can cause severe, sometimes irreversible damage, depending on the part of the brain involved. The biggest risk for stroke is high blood pressure.
Other potential effects of high blood pressure are mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia, a brain disease caused by an interrupted blood supply to the brain. Symptoms include problems with memory, reasoning, and speaking.
Retinopathy occurs when damage occurs in the small blood vessels that bring blood to the eyes. It can cause bleeding or a buildup of fluid under the retina, which is called choroidopathy. Damage to the optic nerve (optic neuropathy) can actually kill nerve cells in the eyes. These conditions can result in impaired vision or even permanent vision loss.
Source : healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure-hypertension/effect-on-body
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