How high blood pressure can affect the body (2024)

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, can silently damage the body for years before symptoms appear. Without treatment, high blood pressure can lead to disability, poor quality of life or even a fatal heart attack or stroke.

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). In general, hypertension is a blood pressure reading of 130/80 mm Hg or higher.

Treatment and lifestyle changes can help control high blood pressure and thus lower the risk of life-threatening health problems.

Damage to the arteries

Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Their inner lining is smooth, allowing blood to flow freely and supplying vital organs and tissues with nutrients and oxygen.

Over time, high blood pressure increases the pressure of blood flowing through the arteries. This can cause the following:

• Damaged and narrowed arteries.High blood pressure can damage the cells lining the arteries. When fats from food enter the bloodstream, they can build up in the damaged arteries. Over time, the artery walls become less elastic. This restricts blood flow throughout the body.
• Aneurysm.Over time, the constant pressure of blood flowing through a weakened artery can cause part of the artery wall to bulge. This is called an aneurysm. An aneurysm can burst and cause life-threatening bleeding in the body. Aneurysms can form in any artery. But they are most common in the body's largest artery, the aorta.

Damage to the heart

High blood pressure can cause many heart diseases, including:

• Coronary artery disease.High blood pressure can narrow and damage the arteries that supply blood to the heart. This damage is known as coronary artery disease. Too little blood flow to the heart can lead to chest pain called angina. It can lead to irregular heart rhythms called arrhythmias. Or it can lead to a heart attack.
• Heart failure.High blood pressure puts a strain on the heart. Over time, this can cause the heart muscle to weaken or stiffen and not work as well as it should. The overwhelmed heart slowly begins to fail.
• Enlarged left heart.High blood pressure forces the heart to work harder to pump blood to the rest of the body. This causes the lower left chamber of the heart, called the left ventricle, to thicken and enlarge. A thickened and enlarged left ventricle increases the risk of heart attack and heart failure. It also increases the risk of death when the heart suddenly stops beating, which is called sudden cardiac death.
• Metaboolsyndroom.High blood pressure increases the risk of metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is a cluster of health problems that can lead to heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The health problems that are part of metabolic syndrome include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high levels of blood fats called triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol, which is the "good" cholesterol, and excess body fat around the waist.

Damage to the brain

The brain depends on a nutritious blood supply to function properly. High blood pressure can affect the brain in the following ways:

• Transient ischemic attack (TIA).Sometimes this is called a mini-stroke. A TIA occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is blocked for a short time. Hardened arteries or blood clots caused by high blood pressure can cause TIAs. A TIA is often a warning sign of a full-blown stroke.
• Snails.A stroke occurs when part of the brain does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients. Or it can happen if there is bleeding in or around the brain. These problems cause brain cells to die. Blood vessels damaged by high blood pressure can narrow, break, or leak. High blood pressure can also cause blood clots to form in the arteries leading to the brain. The blood clots can block blood flow, increasing the risk of stroke.
• Dementia.Narrowed or blocked arteries can restrict blood flow to the brain. This can lead to a certain type of dementia called vascular dementia. A single stroke or multiple small strokes that cut off blood supply to the brain can also cause vascular dementia.
• Mild cognitive impairment.This condition causes slightly more problems with memory, language, or thinking than other adults your age. But the changes are not big enough to affect your daily life, as with dementia. High blood pressure can lead to mild cognitive impairment.

Damage to the kidneys

The kidneys filter extra fluid and waste from the blood - a process that requires healthy blood vessels. High blood pressure can damage blood vessels and lead to the kidneys. Diabetes and high blood pressure can worsen the damage.

Damaged blood vessels prevent the kidneys from being efficient at filtering waste from the blood. This can cause dangerous amounts of fluid and dirt to build up. When the kidneys do not work well enough on their own, there is a serious condition called kidney failure. Treatment may include dialysis or a kidney transplant. High blood pressure is one of the most common causes of kidney failure.

Damage to the eyes

High blood pressure can damage the small, delicate blood vessels that supply blood to the eyes, causing:

• Damage to the blood vessels in the retina, also called retinopathy.The retina is a layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye. Damage to the blood vessels in the retina can lead to bleeding in the eye, blurred vision and complete vision loss. Having diabetes along with high blood pressure increases the risk of retinopathy.
• Fluid accumulation under the retina, also called choroidopathy.This condition can lead to distorted vision or sometimes scarring that worsens vision.
• Nerve damage, also called optic neuropathy.Blocked blood flow can damage the nerve that sends light signals to the brain, called the optic nerve. The injury can lead to bleeding in the eye or loss of vision.

Sexual relations

Problems with getting and maintaining an erection are called erectile dysfunction. It becomes increasingly common after the age of 50. But people with high blood pressure are even more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. This is because restricted blood flow caused by high blood pressure can prevent blood from flowing to the penis.

High blood pressure can reduce blood flow to the vagin*. Reduced blood flow to the vagin* can lead to less sexual desire or arousal, vagin*l dryness, or difficulty achieving org*sm.

High blood pressure emergencies

High blood pressure is usually a persistent condition that slowly causes damage over the years. But sometimes blood pressure rises so quickly and severely that it becomes a medical emergency. When this happens, treatment is needed immediately, often with hospital treatment.

In these situations, high blood pressure can cause:

• Blindness.
• Chestpain.
• Complications during pregnancy, such as blood pressure-related conditions preeclampsia or eclampsia.
• Heart attack.
• Memory loss, personality changes, concentration problems, irritable mood or gradual loss of consciousness.
• Severe damage to the body's main artery, also called aortic dissection.
• Snails.
• Sudden reduction in pumping of the heart, which leads to a reserve of fluid in the lungs, resulting in shortness of breath, also called pulmonary edema.
• Sudden loss of kidney function.

28 november 2023

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