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Health problems that can be attributed to hypertension include damage to blood vessels, heart attack, stroke, dementia and brain damage. High blood pressure that has gone untreated over time can cause blood vessels to narrow. Blood flowing through the body supplies oxygen to vital organs, which can be reduced when blood vessels are narrowed from hypertension.
Aneurysm is another complication that can result from hypertension. Aneurysms are a widening of the blood vessels and can lead to death when they are located in the vessels of the aorta or if there is a blockage in the brain.
Blood vessels in the eye can become blocked, causing vision problems including blindness. - Strokes occur when the flow of blood to the brain is interrupted or stopped. When this happens it takes only minutes for brain cells to start to die. An "ischemic" stroke happens when a blood clot blocks one of the vessels in the brain. When a blood clot breaks, causing bleeding in the brain, it is called a "hemorrhagic" stroke. The most common stroke possibility is the transient ischemic stroke also known as a TIA. TIA is a series of mini-strokes that occur when the blood flow to the brain is intermittently interrupted.
- Dementia is normally associated with growing older but it is also a brain disease that can result in impaired reasoning, memory functions, thinking, speaking, vision and movement. There are other causes of dementia but vascular dementia can result from blockage or narrowing of the arteries in the brain. Mild cognitive impairment comes with aging and can be a complication of Alzheimer's disease.
- As blood vessels are damaged throughout the body from uncontrolled high blood pressure, the vessels in the kidneys can be damaged. As a result the kidneys may cease to remove wastes and extra fluids from the body, causing blood pressure to increase further. High blood pressure has been found to be one of the leading causes of kidney failure. When this happens the patient must undergo dialysis (blood cleansing treatments).
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When the arteries in the heart are narrowed from a build-up of plaque, the heart becomes unable to pump enough blood throughout the body. Contrary to popular belief, heart (or cardiac) failure does not mean that the heart has stopped or even that it is about to stop, only that it is not able to work the way it should. When this occurs, fluid and blood backs up into the lungs causing the feet, ankles and legs to swell---this is called edema.
Myocardial infarctions (MI) or heart attacks affect over a million people a year in the United States. About half of them die and many of the survivors suffer permanent heart damage. Some of the more common symptoms of heart attack include pain or pressure in the chest, described as a squeezing or pressure in the area of the heart; shortness of breath; nausea and/or vomiting; dizziness; sweating; and discomfort or pain in the arms, neck, shoulder or back. You may also experience arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) during a heart attack.
