High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer.” That’s because it usually has no clear warning signs, but it can quietly damage the body for years.
One of the most dangerous problems it causes is heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes, or even death.
To understand how high blood pressure affects the heart, it helps to know what blood pressure is. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. It is measured using two numbers.
The first number is called systolic pressure. This shows how much pressure is in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number is diastolic pressure. This shows the pressure when your heart is resting between beats.
A normal reading is around 120/80 mmHg. But if your blood pressure is often 130/80 mmHg or higher, doctors say you have high blood pressure. In the past, doctors were not too concerned unless the top number went above 140. But newer research shows that even blood pressure in the 130s can be risky, especially if it stays that way over time.
One important study, called the SPRINT trial, found that lowering the top number to below 120 helped reduce the chance of heart problems. People in the study who lowered their blood pressure had fewer heart attacks, strokes, and other heart-related issues.
When your blood pressure is high, your heart has to work harder to pump blood. This extra work can make your heart muscle thick and stiff. That makes it harder for your heart to do its job. High blood pressure can also damage your arteries. Healthy arteries are flexible and smooth. But high pressure can make them stiff or blocked. This can lead to heart attacks.
Not everyone with high blood pressure will have heart disease, but your chances go up if you also smoke, have diabetes, high cholesterol, or a family history of heart problems. That’s why doctors don’t just look at one blood pressure number. They look at your whole health picture.
If your blood pressure is between 120 and 129, and the lower number is still under 80, doctors call this “elevated.” At this stage, you can often avoid medicine by making healthy lifestyle changes. This means eating more fruits and vegetables, cutting back on salt, staying active, losing weight, and not smoking.
If your blood pressure is 130/80 or higher, you may need medicine in addition to these changes. The goal is to get your blood pressure below 130/80, especially if you are at risk for heart disease.
The good news is that in many cases, simple changes in your daily life can bring your blood pressure down. And for people who need medicine, it can help protect the heart in the long run.
In summary, high blood pressure doesn’t have to be very high to be harmful. Even levels starting at 130/80 can quietly hurt your heart. Getting regular checkups, making healthy choices, and starting treatment early can all help protect your heart and keep you healthy.
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 information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about How to eat your way to healthy blood pressure and results showing that Modified traditional Chinese cuisine can lower blood pressure.
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