High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is often called a “silent killer” because it usually has no obvious signs or symptoms. Even though you may feel fine, it can slowly harm your body over time and lead to life-threatening problems.
Two of the most serious dangers linked to high blood pressure are kidney failure and heart failure. Understanding how these problems happen can help you take steps to protect your health.
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps. When this pressure stays high for a long time, it puts too much stress on your blood vessels and organs.
One of the organs most affected is the kidney. Your kidneys filter waste and extra fluid from your blood through tiny blood vessels. These vessels work like very fine filters. But high blood pressure can damage them, making it harder for your kidneys to work properly.
Studies show that long-term high blood pressure is one of the top causes of chronic kidney disease, also called CKD. One study published in The Lancet found that people with poorly controlled blood pressure are much more likely to develop kidney problems.
If your kidneys can’t filter your blood well, waste builds up in your body. This can lead to kidney failure, where treatments like dialysis or a kidney transplant may be needed to stay alive.
High blood pressure also harms the heart. When arteries are narrowed or stiff because of high pressure, the heart has to work harder to move blood through them. This extra effort makes the heart muscle thicker, especially in the left ventricle—the part that pumps blood to the rest of the body. This thickening, called left ventricular hypertrophy, makes the heart less efficient. Over time, it can lead to heart failure.
Heart failure means the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that high blood pressure is a major cause of heart failure, especially in older people.
Research shows that people with uncontrolled high blood pressure are two to three times more likely to develop heart failure than those with normal blood pressure.
There is also a harmful cycle between the heart and the kidneys. When kidneys are damaged, they can’t help regulate blood pressure properly, which causes it to rise even more. This puts more pressure on the heart. At the same time, if the heart struggles to pump well, it reduces blood flow to the kidneys, making their condition worse.
The good news is that you can take control of your blood pressure and protect both your heart and kidneys. Healthy lifestyle choices make a big difference.
Eating less salt, staying active, keeping a healthy weight, and finding ways to manage stress can all help. Medicines like ACE inhibitors or calcium-channel blockers, when prescribed by a doctor, also help keep blood pressure in check and prevent damage to your organs.
Although high blood pressure may not seem urgent at first, its long-term effects are serious. By taking steps to manage it early, you can stop the cycle of damage and keep your body healthy for years to come.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more health information, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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