Know the long term problems linked with hypertension

High blood pressure is associated with several potentially dangerous complications. From kidney damage to heart attack, avoiding the long term side effects of hypertension means working to control the blood pressure regularly should be the best solution.

Saturday, June 04, 2011
Pressure in the chest may be a sign of heart attack (Internet Photo)

High blood pressure is associated with several potentially dangerous complications. From kidney damage to heart attack, avoiding the long term side effects of hypertension means working to control the blood pressure regularly should be the best solution.

High blood pressure has been conclusively linked to a number of other medical problems. Problems like blood clots, stroke, and heart attack are much more frequent in people who have high blood pressure.

Similarly, kidney problems, liver problems, and a number of hormonal disturbances can contribute to or cause the development of high blood pressure.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the name used to refer to a group of related diseases that are all caused when damage occurs to the heart muscle. It is similar to angina, but is a more advanced disease. The classic symptoms of ACS are chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and sometimes nausea or palpitations. Having ACS is not the same thing as having a heart attack, but heart attacks are considered to be a type of ACS.

Frequent headache has long been considered a possible warning sign of high blood pressure. Clinical observation has suggested that people with high blood pressure get headaches more often.

Pheochromocytomas are a rare type of hormone secreting tumor that has dramatic effects on blood pressure. Though not usually cancerous, these tumors always need to be removed because of their effects on other body systems. Learn the symptoms caused by pheochromocytoma and how they are diagnosed and treated.

Reno vascular hypertension is a type of high blood pressure caused by decreased blood flow to the kidneys as a result of damaged blood vessels. The high blood pressure that results is a symptom of the underlying blood flow problem, which must ultimately be corrected. Learn how this condition is diagnosed and what steps are used to treat it.

Erectile dysfunction is a common and treatable condition that many men with high blood pressure experience. Learn how high blood pressure contributes to this disease and the steps you can take to restore your sexual health.

High blood pressure is an extremely powerful risk factor for having a stroke. Up to 70% of strokes can be directly attributed to the effects of high blood pressure, making stroke one of the most important complications for people suffering from high blood pressure.

High blood pressure can be an important contributing factor to heart attack.

Heart attack is a serious and potentially life threatening event, so it is important to know the warning signs that might indicate a heart attack.

These are signs like a dull pain or pressure in the chest or upper arms, sudden difficulty breathing, heavy sweating without heavy exercise and heaviness or nausea especially after doing strenuous work.

Now, we need to understand how blood pressure affects the heart function. Lifting weights makes your muscles get bigger. Essentially, lifting weights is just making the muscles do work.

Blood pressure is like weight lifting for the heart, and high blood pressure means the heart has to work extra hard to pump blood. Just like arms or legs, this extra work makes the heart get bigger.

The heart can get so big that oxygen delivery is just enough to keep things going, and any extra demand on the heart (exercise) disrupts the flow of oxygen, causing a heart attack.

It is important to remember that the heart is a muscle. Like all muscles in the body, it can only work properly if it has constant supply of oxygen, reserves of energy and nutrients and a way to remove harmful waste products.

When any of these things are interrupted, the heart can be damaged and lose its ability to effectively pump blood. A heart attack happens when, for various reasons, the supply of oxygen to the heart is interrupted.

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