What is Blood Pressure and High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)?
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted on the walls of blood vessels by the blood pumped by the heart. Hypertension is the condition where this pressure remains consistently high.
What are the Symptoms of High Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure, or hypertension, primarily manifests with symptoms such as headaches, nosebleeds, shortness of breath, and fatigue. However, it can also occur without any noticeable symptoms. For this reason, hypertension can lead to serious diseases like stroke due to its acute effects, and when uncontrolled, it can lay the groundwork for severe chronic conditions, earning it the title of silent killer.
What are the Dangers of High Blood Pressure?
The primary organs affected by hypertension are the heart, brain, arteries, eyes, and kidneys. In response to hypertension, these organs initiate some defense and balancing mechanisms. However, if blood pressure is not treated and lowered during this process, irreversible permanent damage can occur.
- Heart Failure: In high blood pressure, the workload on the heart increases as it has to work against high pressure. The heart, composed mainly of muscle mass, starts to thicken to cope with this workload. As the muscle mass increases, the heart’s ability to relax begins to deteriorate. If not treated during this period, over time, the heart's ability to contract will also start to decline. Eventually, both relaxation and contraction functions are compromised, leading to heart failure.
- Heart Attack: High blood pressure accelerates the development of atherosclerosis and causes negative changes in the heart’s own vascular circulation. Resistance in the coronary vessels increases, and reserves decrease. As a result, the heart’s nourishment can be compromised in hypertensive patients. If a patient with thickened heart muscle experiences a heart attack, the speed of progression and risk of death is higher. Additionally, these patients may experience more arrhythmias and sudden death due to ischemia resulting from vascular narrowing.
- Aortic Aneurysm: An aneurysm is the local dilation that occurs in one or more sections of the aorta. While most patients may not have any symptoms, sometimes pain can occur in the lower back, abdomen, and chest. High blood pressure is known to be the most significant risk factor for aneurysm development. Controlling high blood pressure is crucial for preventing aortic aneurysms.
- Stroke: Individuals with hypertension have a 4-5 times higher risk of experiencing a stroke compared to those with normal blood pressure. Hypertension is a significant factor in the development of ischemic stroke caused by narrowing or blockage of the vessels supplying blood to the brain. It can also create weak points and aneurysms in brain vessels, making hypertension the primary risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke when these points rupture.
- Kidney Failure: Hypertension is a disease that also affects blood vessels. It targets organs like the kidneys, in addition to the heart and brain. The higher the blood pressure, the greater the risk of developing kidney failure. High blood pressure is both a cause and a consequence of kidney damage; hypertension leads to kidney failure, and kidney failure can lead to hypertension. In some kidney diseases, high blood pressure can be the first symptom.
- Vision Problems: Hypertension causes arterial stiffness in the retina, the layer of the eye. As a result, bleeding and damage can occur. By monitoring retinal changes, one can directly assess small vessel damage caused by hypertension.
What are the Protective Measures Against High Blood Pressure?
All these diseases can be prevented and delayed with early diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.
- Lifestyle changes: exercise, weight loss, low-salt diet, stress management
- Regular monitoring and check-ups
- Medications as needed, based on doctor recommendations
- Early consultation and interdisciplinary coordination for the six diseases mentioned above
- Effective treatment for individuals with developed diseases.
Spc. Dr. Mustafa DOĞAN
Internal Medicine
