High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a silent but serious condition that can go unnoticed due to its lack of symptoms. It occurs when the heart pumps blood with excessive force, resulting in damage to the arteries and blood vessels, as well as an overworked heart.
Causes of high blood pressure include underlying conditions like kidney disease or thyroid disorders, medications, poor diet, obesity, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and genetics.
If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, and eventually heart failure. Symptoms, if they appear, may include chest pain, dizziness, headaches, and shortness of breath. Regular blood pressure monitoring and lifestyle changes are crucial in preventing or managing high blood pressure and long-term cardiovascular complications.
What Is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the measurement of the force at which blood pumps through your arteries and other vessels throughout the circulatory system.
Your heart creates two types of pressure: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is the pressure your blood puts on the artery walls when the heart contracts. Diastolic pressure is the pressure your blood puts on the artery walls when the heart is at rest between heartbeats.
When evaluating blood pressure and completing a blood pressure reading, the systolic pressure is the first number read, while the diastolic pressure is the second. Or, to put it more simply, it’s systolic pressure over diastolic pressure.
A healthy measurement for blood pressure is 120/80 or less.
What Causes High Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when conditions within your circulatory system cause your heart to pump blood out at too high a force. Sometimes, it’s unknown why an individual develops high blood pressure. For others, high blood pressure can be attributed to preexisting or underlying conditions.
Conditions That Can Lead to High Blood Pressure
Some conditions that can lead to high blood pressure include:
- Adrenal gland tumors
- Certain medications, such as birth control pills, pain relievers, and other prescription drugs
- Congenital heart defects
- High cholesterol
- Illicit drugs, including cocaine or amphetamines
- Kidney disease
- Sleep apnea
- Thyroid disease
Risk Factors That Can Lead to High Blood Pressure
There are also risk factors for why blood pressure can elevate or reach levels of hypertension.
Some risk factors that can lead to high blood pressure include:
- Age – Blood pressure can begin elevating the older you get.
- Excessive weight or obesity – Too much weight puts a lot of additional pressure on the body, including the heart. It also alters the health of the blood vessels, which can cause high blood pressure. Plus, obesity increases the likelihood of having high cholesterol, which also plays a part in high blood pressure.
- Family history – High blood pressure often runs in families.
- Lack of movement – Physical movement is excellent for the heart and the health of the blood vessels. On the other hand, maintaining a sedentary lifestyle can lead to poor heart function and high blood pressure.
- Poor diet – Diets that are heavy on saturated fats, sodium, and sugar can increase cholesterol levels and lead to high blood pressure.
- Race – Certain races, such as those of African descent, are at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.
- Vices – Smoking tobacco or consuming excessive amounts of alcohol can each have an adverse effect on the health of your heart and blood vessels, thus leading to high blood pressure and worse. We could really write a thousand words on the damage that smoking does to the circulatory system, but we’ll just say this: If you smoke, quitting will be the best thing you can do for your heart and overall health.
Is Having High Blood Pressure Really That Bad?
The short answer is, “Yes, it is.”
If your heart is pumping blood out at too high a force with each heartbeat, the blood will push too hard against the artery walls, causing damage. Plus, high blood pressure forces your heart to work extra hard, causing it to wear down too quickly.
High blood pressure is considered a “silent killer” for a reason—patients only know they have it by checking their blood pressure or by experiencing significant symptoms, such as:
- Chest pain
- Dizziness or fainting
- Nosebleeds
- Physical fatigue
- Pounding in the head, ears, or neck
- Severe headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Vision problems
Even then, none of these symptoms directly point to high blood pressure, and only some of them point to a heart issue.
Several of these symptoms, such as chest pain and shortness of breath, are the same symptoms people feel when experiencing a heart attack—a telltale sign of heart disease, which can eventually develop into heart failure.
Why Can High Blood Pressure Lead to Heart Failure?
Developing high blood pressure is sometimes a first step to eventually developing heart failure. Or, it can be a contributing factor to developing heart failure, along with other issues or conditions such as:
- Arrhythmia
- Cardiomyopathy
- Congenital heart defects
- Coronary artery disease (CAD)
- Diabetes
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Heart disease
- History of heart attacks
- Illicit drug use (particularly cocaine or amphetamines)
- Kidney disease
- Prescription drug use (particularly cancer medications)
- Tobacco use
The reason high blood pressure is often connected to the development of heart failure is because it puts too much of a workload on the heart for too long, forcing it to wear down too quickly. Plus, when the blood pushes against arteries and vessels too hard for too long, the walls can become weak and damaged, adding to the damage and strain of the heart and circulatory system. Over time, as the heart works overtime and wears down faster than it should, it becomes less able to pump blood at the rate the body requires.
Once the heart reaches this stage, the patient will have developed the early stages of heart failure.
Are you worried you have high blood pressure and are moving closer to experiencing heart failure? The cardiologists at Middle Georgia Heart have the programs and treatments you need to treat these and other cardiological conditions.
Our heart doctors have years of experience helping patients lower their blood pressure and decrease their risk of developing heart failure. Through effective programs and treatment plans, we’re committed to helping you maintain or even improve your heart health for better overall health and well-being.
Schedule a consultation with us today: 478-207-5224
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