How High Blood Pressure Affects Our Health

Many people refer to high blood pressure, or hypertension, as the "silent killer." This is because it usually doesn't exhibit any signs of illness until it's too late, and it steadily hurts critical organs over time. High blood pressure is a key cause of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and death at a young age. It has an impact on millions of people all around the world.

It's crucial to grasp how high blood pressure affects the body in order to stop, find, and treat it efficiently. In this blog post, we'll speak about what high blood pressure is, what causes it, how it affects different organs over time, and how making changes to your lifestyle and getting treatment can help keep you healthy.

What does it mean to have high blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force of blood flowing against the walls of the arteries. There are two numbers that tell you how much it costs:

• The systolic pressure is the highest number. The pressure that rises up when the heart beats.
• The bottom number, diastolic pressure, is the pressure in the heart while it is at rest between beats.
• Normal blood pressure is generally between 120 and 80 mmHg. You have high blood pressure if your blood pressure persists at 130/80 mmHg or higher.

There are two main types:

1. Necessary (Main) High blood pressure

• It becomes worse with time for no evident reason.
• Your risk can go up because of your age, family history, unhealthy habits, and stress.

1. Secondary Hypertension

• Caused by health issues such kidney disease, thyroid difficulties, or some medications.
• Can start suddenly and get worse.

What does it happen and what makes you more likely to get it

There are many reasons that might make your blood pressure go up:

• Genetics: A family history makes the danger much higher.
• Age: The risk gets higher as you get older.
• Too much alcohol, salt, and not enough potassium in your diet.
• Being overweight, not working out, smoking, and being under a lot of stress all the time are all bad for your health.

Some of the medical issues are diabetes, kidney disease, and sleep apnea.

How Hypertension Affects Your Health

If you don't treat it, high blood pressure can steadily damage blood vessels and organs all over your body. Let's see how it affects vital systems.

1. The heart and blood vessels

• Problems with the heart: When blood pressure is high, the heart has to work harder, which makes the muscle around the heart thicker (left ventricular hypertrophy). Over time, this might cause the heart to stop working.
• Coronary artery disease: High blood pressure makes atherosclerosis happen faster. Atherosclerosis is when arteries are stiff and narrow. This raises the risk of heart attacks.
• Aneurysm: If you have high blood pressure for an extended period, it might weaken the walls of your arteries, causing them to bulge and maybe even break. This is a life-threatening emergency.

2. Brain Stroke: High blood pressure is the leading cause of both ischemic strokes (clots in the brain) and hemorrhagic strokes (bleeding in the brain).

• Long-term high blood pressure cuts off blood flow to the brain, which can cause memory problems, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease.
• Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA): This is a symptom that you are more likely to have a stroke in the future.

3. Kidneys Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD): High blood pressure damages the blood vessels in the kidneys, which makes it harder for them to get rid of waste.

• Kidney Failure: If you don't control your high blood pressure, it might lead to end-stage renal failure, which requires dialysis or a transplant.

4. Eyes Hypertensive Retinopathy: High blood pressure can damage the blood vessels in the retina, which can lead to visual problems or possibly blindness.

• Macular Edema: When fluid builds up in the retina, it can make your vision hazy.
• Optic Neuropathy: If the optic nerve doesn't get enough blood, it could be damaged.

5. The metabolism and endocrine system

• Diabetes and metabolic syndrome can go hand in hand with high blood pressure.
• Together, they make cardiac issues far more likely.

6. Arteries that are on the outside

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD): Less blood supply to the arms and legs can make them hurt, numb, and more likely to get an infection or lose a limb.

The Quietness of High Blood Pressure

One of the worst things about high blood pressure is that it doesn't exhibit any early indicators. A lot of people don't find out they have high blood pressure until it pains them a much. When symptoms do show up, they could be:

• Headache
• Bleeding from the nose
• Dizzy
• Vision that is not clear
• Not being able to breathe

These symptoms usually only develop when blood pressure is relatively high, which is why it's crucial to get checked out often.

Diagnosis and Follow-Up

Doctors check someone's blood pressure several times and compare the results to see if they have excessive blood pressure. Doctors may also suggest: monitoring blood pressure while you are walking (for 24 hours).

• Tests on your blood and urine to check the health of your kidneys.
• An electrocardiogram (ECG) or echocardiography to see how well the heart is working.
• Eye exam to look for problems in the retina early on.
• You can stop problems from getting worse quickly if you find them early.

Taking Care of High Blood Pressure

1. Changes to the way you live

• Making modifications to their daily lives can lower their blood pressure and minimize their risks by a lot for a lot of people:
• Eat a lot of nutritious grains, fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy. The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a practical approach to do this.
• Limit Salt: Aim for fewer than 2,300 mg of salt a day, although 1,500 mg is better.
• Every week, make sure you get some exercise. Try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity.
• Stay at a healthy weight. Even losing a little bit of weight can help lower blood pressure.
• Stop drinking and smoking too much. Both of these habits make your heart disease and high blood pressure worse.
• Yoga, meditation, and deep breathing are all helpful techniques to keep stress from mounting.

1. Medications

• Doctors may prescribe you diuretics (water pills) to assist you get rid of surplus fluid if changing your lifestyle isn't enough.
• ACE inhibitors and ARBs help relax the blood vessels.
• Calcium channel blockers to help the heart work less hard.
• Beta-blockers lower blood pressure and make the heart beat slower.
• You need to take your meds as instructed, and treatment lasts typically an extended period.

A Long-Term View

If they obtain the correct care, most people with high blood pressure can live whole, healthy lives. But not securing treatment makes it much more likely that you will have a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or another disease that could kill you.

To keep things under control for a long time, you need to check in on them regularly, follow the treatment plan, and adapt your way of life.

How to Keep Hypertension Away

It's always better to stay well than to have to treat an illness. To minimize your risk of acquiring high blood pressure, eat a balanced diet from a young age.

• Always be active.
• Don't drink or smoke too much.
• Get checkups on a regular basis, especially if someone in your family has had a problem.
• Take care of stress well.

Conclusion

High blood pressure may not exhibit any indicators, yet it can be very hazardous for your health. High blood pressure can damage practically every area of the body, including the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. The good news is that it can be avoided and dealt with if you make the right changes to your life, get medical help, and learn more. The personnel at Prakash Hospital in Noida can give you additional information.

By adopting good choices, checking our blood pressure often, and seeking treatment when we need it, we may protect ourselves from the harmful effects of this silent killer and live longer, healthier lives.