Untreated hypertension threatens health and life. What are the complications?

High blood pressure is a worldwide problem. It is a disease that affects both adults and children. For a long time it is asymptomatic and sometimes its first manifestation is a serious sudden event that threatens a person's health and life.

It has been reported that up to 54% of stroke and heart attack cases have a basis in hypertension.

Alarmingly, more than 40% of adults over 25 years of age suffer from high blood pressure.

Arterial hypertension, hypertension, high blood pressure = cardiovascular and civilisation diseases.

In short...

Hypertension is divided into primary (essential) and secondary.

In the case of the primary form, the cause of its occurrence is not fully understood, but several risk factors are involved in its development.

The first group of risk factors are those that we cannot influence (uncontrollable). The second group of risk factors are controllable and therefore our actions can improve or worsen the course.

The factors behind the development of cardiovascular disease and hypertension include:

Age
gender
genetic predisposition
race
atherosclerosis
overweight and obesity
smoking
excessive intake of fat and salt in the diet
excessive alcohol intake
lack of fibre, fruit and vegetables and poor dietary choices and inappropriate eating habits
sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise
excessive stress and psychological overload
hormonal contraceptives
associated diseases and their insufficient treatment, diabetes as a serious complication
drug use
social and financial background, education, living and working conditions

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 7 major risk factors for cardiovascular disease:

High blood pressure
smoking
high blood cholesterol levels
overweight and obesity
lack of physical activity
low dietary intake of vegetables and fruit
excessive drinking of alcohol

Secondary hypertension develops as a result of another disease and is also one of its symptoms.

Plus...

The heart is a muscular organ that pumps, supercharges the blood in the human body. And it does this constantly and without a break so as to ensure the current need for oxygen and nutrients for all cells, tissues and organs.

Blood pressure is a kind of force that acts on the wall of blood vessels and drives the blood in them.

It is influenced by the activity of the heart. It is affected by the force of the blood ejecting from the heart into the blood vessels and the resistance created by the blood vessels as the blood flows.

It is divided into...

Systolic blood pressure, which occurs when the heart contracts and expels (ejects) blood into the aorta. It is also the highest value of blood pressure.

Diastolic blood pressure is present when the heart is relaxed.

Normal blood pressure is in the vicinity of 120/80 mmHg. It is better if the blood pressure is lower. Some people have a lifetime lower blood pressure and thus a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

However, too low blood pressure is not good either, as it results in insufficient blood supply to tissues and organs. Hypotension can be said to occur when blood pressure values are below 90/60 mmHg.

A sort of imaginary borderline is formed by a condition where no problems are present and a condition where health problems are associated. Read more in the article Hypotension (low blood pressure).

High blood pressure is said to occur when blood pressure values are above 140/90 mmHg. We also know the term prehypertension. It is defined when the value is above 130/80 mmHg and is a kind of precursor to hypertension.

Interesting articles:
Blood pressure values in a clear table
How to measure blood pressure correctly

Want to know more about the risks of untreated hypertension?
Stay and read on with us.

The risks of untreated hypertension

High blood pressure progresses from a young age. During this period, there may be no symptoms and the person does not experience any discomfort.

However, despite its asymptomatic course, it causes various damages in the body. These affect the cardiovascular system itself, but also other areas of the human body

A significant contributory factor in the development of hypertension is certainly atherosclerosis itself, which is a process in which the walls of the arteries deteriorate and become damaged.

The walls of the blood vessels become less elastic, which causes a breakdown in their function. The problem has a multifactorial basis, which is promoted by smoking, an inappropriate diet with excessive fat and salt intake and lack of exercise.

Modern times and excessive stress also contribute significantly to the problem. This is also why young people are at risk today, and much more so than in the past.

Children are also affected.

Childhood + hypertension = overweight and obesity + lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle.

In adults, it develops early in youth. And in some cases, its first symptom can be a heart attack, stroke or even death as a result of these serious sudden events.

Hypertension has also earned the name silent killer for this reason.

Hypertension progresses even in the absence of sudden events and is harmful to the entire body.

Up to 90% of elderly people have hypertension.

A symptomless course can be replaced by a period when the first difficulties have already set in. We usually associate high blood pressure and its symptoms with conditions such as:

headache
dizziness, vertigo, vertigo
tinnitus
hot flushes and red skin
visual disturbance
fatigue and weakness
disturbance of balance
feeling sick and vomiting
body tremors
dry mouth
nosebleeds - epistaxis
heart palpitations
chest pain
shortness of breath

The table shows the risk impact of hypertension

Area	Description
Blood vessels	Hypertension results from atherosclerosis exacerbates the process of arterial calcification itself, contributing negatively to the development of anaemia in various tissues and organs weakens the vascular wall and is a risk of thrombus formation - blood clots consequently, there is a risk of their rupture, or embolism, to other parts of the body a weakened blood vessel wall is a risk for the development of aneurysms, i.e. vascular aneurysms an aneurysm can rupture For example, stroke aortic dissection
Heart	High blood pressure increases the load on the heart, creating enlargement of the heart muscle the heart muscle cannot work effectively against high blood pressure for life the blood supply to the heart deteriorates, coronary heart disease develops, a painful form with angina pectoris ischaemic heart disease is the basis of chronic heart failure to pulmonary oedema, with acute deterioration and decompensation of the long-term condition arrhythmia develops, often as atrial fibrillation, which underlies the formation of blood clots in the heart, and these can clog blood vessels in the brain and elsewhere in the body during embolisation sudden events such as heart attacks due to damage to coronary vessels from atherosclerosis or blockage by a blood clot during embolisation directly from the heart are also at risk
Brain	the most serious condition is sudden stroke, which has its basis in atherosclerosis, embolization of a blood clot, but also in the rupture of a blood vessel when it is weakened Stroke can be ischaemic due to non-hemorrhage or hemorrhagic, known as cerebral haemorrhage the risk is mainly from conditions of excessively high blood pressure, such as hypertensive crisis long-term deterioration of brain function leads to memory impairment, dementia, mental and intellectual changes.
Eyes	high blood pressure destroys the tiny blood vessels of the eye, resulting in progressive deterioration and damage to vision examples include macular degeneration and other retinal diseases, hypertensive retinopathy, but also blindness
Kidneys	over time, their function deteriorates until kidney failure and the need for dialysis or kidney transplantation may result. plus even primary kidney disease causes secondary hypertension
Lower limbs	the risk is mainly due to thrombus, blood clot (embolus) in the lower limbs or severe atherosclerosis of the arteries of the lower limbs, in which case the risk is amputation of the affected and unhealed part of the limb peripheral arterial disease
Sexual ability	In men, impaired blood flow also affects erection - erectile dysfunction + article How poor lifestyle increases the risk of impotence

What to watch out for in hypertension and how to help?

The information in the table shows that untreated hypertension is the basis for the development of long-term, but also acute problems. These threaten the health and even the life of a man.

The following facts are also interesting:
Not every person with hypertension knows about it and treats it.
Not every person with hypertension is treated adequately. This may be due to inadequate, inappropriate or neglected treatment by the patient.

It is reported that:
27% do not know about hypertension.
18% are untreated, yet know about their high blood pressure.
26% are inadequately treated.
29% are well treated.

And now you see that treatment + early onset therapy is important in hypertension.

Treatment for hypertension is lifelong.

Of course, the treatment must be sufficient, through mutual cooperation between doctor and patient.

The treatment cannot be changed or omitted arbitrarily. Otherwise, there is a risk of increasing blood pressure values and associated health risks such as hypertensive crisis and other complications.

The combination of alcohol and medication is, of course, not recommended.

This is also the reason why some people with hypertension do not take medication as they are going out for an evening with alcohol. This may end up with a visit to hospital.

Another example is under-treated hypertension, where the increase in blood pressure occurs at night and in the morning. Medications are not able to keep blood pressure in a good range for 24 hours. Therefore, it is necessary to inform the doctor about higher blood pressure values in the evening, at night and in the morning after waking up.

Or the treatment is not appropriately set and combined.

In the treatment of high blood pressure, various drugs are used and often their combination with each other.

Plus.

Lifestyle changes and regimen measures are important.
Of course, regular blood pressure checks at home and at the doctor's office are essential.

Example:

Weight reduction in overweight and obesity, BMI from 18.5 to 24.9
Reduction of salt intake, sodium in the diet - below 6 g per day
Reduce fat intake, take in healthy fats - unsaturated fatty acids
limit alcohol
no smoking
get enough exercise, at least 30 minutes a day or higher intensity exercise 3-4 times a week
eat plenty of fibre, vegetables and fruit
modifying your diet by cooking or steaming
limiting sweets, salty snacks and smoked foods
green tea is suitable, and drinking coffee in moderation
limit stress
adequate drinking