High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease
If your blood pressure stays consistently elevated you may be diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure). High blood pressure is known as the ‘silent killer’ because you may have high blood pressure and not even know it. Usually there are no symptoms. That is why it’s some important you monitor your blood pressure on a fairly regular basis.
If you do not take steps to control high blood pressure you risk long term consequences that can be fatal.
How does high blood pressure impact your body?
Let me give you a brief idea of what’s going on within your body when your blood pressure is elevated.
High blood pressure increases the hearts workload by making the heart pump harder through the arteries. If high blood pressure continues over a long period of time, the functioning of the heart and arteries (and other organs, such as the kidneys’) gradually deteriorates under the strain. The added workload causes the heart to enlarge. If your heart enlarges too much, it may have difficulty meeting the needs of your body.
Arteries harden as a normal process of aging. High blood pressure speeds up this process. Hardened and narrowed arteries are less effective at delivering oxygen and nutrients to your organs. If the needs of your organs are not met, they do not work properly. Blood clot’s become a risk as arteries narrow, cutting off the body’s blood supply.
High blood pressure increases your risk for stroke, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, and heart attack. High blood pressure combined with excess weight, high cholesterol, smoking, or diabetes, increases the risk exponentially.
There is no one set time for how long it takes for these complications to arise. Everyone’s situation is different. I encourage you to work with your physician to treat your condition now.
High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease
Hardened and narrowed arteries are defined medically as atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. This condition can lead to complications, such as coronary heart disease.
Cardiomegaly, an enlarged heart, is another risk of high blood pressure I mentioned above. Symptoms of cardiomegaly can include fatigue, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, to more serious signs of congestive heart failure. This is when the heart is not longer able to function and adequately circulate blood.
Be sure to sign-up for the free e-course 7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure at http://lowerbloodpressurewithlisa.com.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
https://lisanelsonrd.com
Image created by Ambro.
