Harmful Effects of Hypertension – High blood pressure or hypertension is a chronic condition where blood pressure on the artery walls (net blood vessels) is increased. This condition is known as a “silent killer” because it rarely has obvious symptoms.
The only way to know if you have hypertension by measuring blood pressure.
High blood pressure is a higher blood pressure than 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The 140 mmHg number refers to the systolic readings, when the heart pumps blood throughout the body.
Meanwhile, the number 90 mmHG refers to the diastolic readings, when the heart relaxes while filling the chambers with blood.
Read also: The best diet for hypertension.
Harmful Effects of Hypertension
Here are the Harmful Effects of Hypertension:
Headache accompanied by dizziness
Hypertension, whether of mild to severe or uncontrollable, causes tremendous headache. This is due to the increased blood pressure on the head which will cause the pain to be very agonizing.
Effects on blood vessels
Continuous high pressure on the blood vessels makes the artery walls damaged. As a result, the artery walls will recuperate so it is thicker, harder and less elastic. This condition is called atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.
You can experience atherosclerosis naturally by the aging process, but high blood pressure can accelerate the process. Hardened and stiff arteries are more prone to rupture and clogging, causing damage to organs that are supposed to be blood supply of the vessels.
High blood pressure can also cause an aneurysm. An aneurysm occurs when some arteries become weak and bubble like balloons due to extra continuous pressure. Aneurysm develops slowly over the years and often does not cause symptoms.
If these bubbles are broken, dangerous bleeding can occur in the body.
An aneurysm can occur anywhere, but most commonly in the aortic supplying blood to the abdomen, pelvis, and feet (abdominal aortic aneurysm).
Effects on the circulatory system
The damage caused by high blood pressure starts from small and develops as time goes by. The longer these things are not diagnosed or uncontrollable, the more serious the risks are also.
Your blood vessels and the main arteries carry blood throughout the body and supply to the vital tissues and organs. When the pressure on the flowing blood soars high, it begins to damage the artery walls.
The damage starts from a small tear. When tears on the walls of this artery begin to form, the bad cholesterol flows through the blood and adheres to the tear. The more cholesterol it forms on the wall, making the arteries narrower. The results of blood have become less flowing.
When the amount of blood that should not be able to move through the blocked artery, this does damage to the tissues or organs. At heart, it can mean shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, or heart attack.
The heart also works much harder, but becomes less effective with high blood pressure and blocked arteries.
Later, it can make the left ventricular swelling which is part of the heart that serves to pump blood throughout the body. It also increases your risk of heart attack.
Heart failure is a condition where your heart is very weak and damaged by high blood pressure, hard work, or a previous heart attack, which makes the heart stop pumping blood throughout the body effectively. Signs of heart failure include:
- Short Breath
- Difficulty breathing
- Swelling of the legs
- Often feel tired
High blood pressure can also cause a form of protrusions that damage the arteries. It is called a with aneurysm. The bulges are enlarged and often cannot be found until the bulges cause pain by tapping on other areas of the body.
Ruptured aneurysm can be very harmful if it occurs in the main artery. It can happen anywhere on the body part.
12 Other harmful effects:
- Chest pain.
- Effect on the heart.
- Effect on the brain.
- Causes Arterial Vascular disease.
- Metabolic Syndrome.
- Kidney Disorders.
- Effect on the eyes.
- Effect on Nervous system.
- Effect on the Skeletal system.
- Effect on Respiratory system.
- Effect on Reproduction system.
- Effect on Urinary system.
Read also: Treatment of Hypertension: 16 Lifestyle and Medications.
Thank you very much for reading Harmful Effects of Hypertension, hopefully useful.
