How Can High Blood Pressure Cause a Heart Attack?
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Hypertension
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Nearly one in every three adults in the United States has high blood pressure, according to the National Institutes of Health. Even though people tend to develop high blood pressure as they grow older, age is not the only factor that makes people susceptible to heart disease. Most people tend to suffer high blood pressure at some point in their lives. However, individuals who are overweight or who have a family history of high blood pressure are at greater risk for coronary heart disease. While blood pressure typically rises and falls throughout the day, a person has high blood pressure if it remains elevated over time. In that case, a person is diagnosed with hypertension, which is the medical term used for high blood pressure.
Effects of Blood Pressure on the Heart
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Blood pressure is actually the force of blood against the walls of arteries. Therefore, high blood pressure can cause the heart muscle to work too hard. As a result, the heart beats faster and more forcefully, increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure can also cause the heart to pump more than a normal volume of blood or harden the walls of the arteries, again increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke. Since the arteries bring oxygenated blood back to the heart, the narrowing of arteries restricts blood flow, causing a heart attack. When the heart does not receive adequate oxygen, chest pain, commonly known as angina, can occur. Hypertension is also the primary risk factor for congestive heart failure (CHF), a condition in which the heart muscle is weakened and thus is unable to pump enough blood to the other organs in the body.
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Systolic/Diastolic
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Both the top and bottom numbers in a blood-pressure reading are significant, but for people who are older than age 50, systolic pressure, which is the top number, is considered high if it is above 140. High systolic pressure is the most common form of high blood pressure affecting middle-aged and older adults. Even though a person who has high systolic pressure may notice no symptoms, the condition can be dangerous if left untreated, because it can damage the heart and blood vessels. Uncontrolled high systolic pressure can lead to heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure and a number of other serious health conditions. Diastolic pressure, the bottom number in a blood-pressure reading, is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart relaxes between beats. The higher the diastolic blood pressure, the greater the risk for heart attacks and strokes. A diastolic blood pressure reading above 90 is considered high.
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