Effects of High Blood Pressure
One of the most common worries to physicians is an elevated blood pressure in someone’s body. While it is a common threat, especially considering the foods and lifestyles that are becoming part of westernized culture, it is still a threat that could be very serious to ones health. Also known as hypertension, having a high blood pressure affects the body in ways that many people could not even imagine. It is related to an extensive list of other diseases, some of which have proven to be fatal. Hypertension also has the potential to bring about trauma in the heart and arterial walls that it carouses through.
Having high blood pressure is an intensely harmful problem in of itself. When only hypertension comes into play, in this case, it is called a hypertensive crisis. This occurs when blood pressure levels reach a point far too high for the body to withstand. If not taken care of promptly, a hypertensive crisis could very well cause death. However, even in situations not as extreme, a hypertensive crisis could lead to irreversible organ damage, since such a crisis usually affects on specific systems. The main organ systems affected by this problem are the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system, and the renal system.
While having a hypertensive crisis is reason enough to be alarmed by a high blood pressure reading, it should be said that hypertension has long-term affects that could result or are a factor of something else entirely. For example, any kind of pressure of the blood puts stress on the arterial walls. An elevated blood pressure puts extensive stress on these walls, causing the heart to work more than it has to and also the progression of unhealthy tissue growth in the area, something known as atheroma. The higher the pressure of the blood, the more stress is put on the heart and the more atheroma that forms. Over time, this will lead to thicker walls of the heart that will weaken faster than they should.
These are not the only effects hypertension has on the body. A persistent rate of hypertension is a leading cause in some very serious conditions, such as strokes, heart attacks, heart failures, arterial aneurysms, chronic renal failure, and a form of diabetes. Having a high blood pressure should not be taken lightly. The risks are high and the effects far-reaching. Hypertension has been found as a side effect of many other illnesses on top of the ones mentioned, so having a high blood pressure should never be taken lightly.
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