When it comes to your heart and your blood pressure, what you don’t know could actually hurt you. Despite millions of adults suffering from high blood pressure, many people who have the condition are not aware that they have it. The sooner they know their condition, the better so they can get a prescription and order medication and medical supplies online. But what exactly is high blood pressure, and how can it affect your heart?
What is High Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension, is when your blood pressure, the force of blood flowing through your blood vessels, is consistently too high. Your blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day, but when the pressure gets too high, it tends to push against the walls of your arteries.
The excess strain brought on by the increased pressure causes your coronary arteries near your heart to slowly become narrower due to a buildup of fat, cholesterol, and other substances. The buildup of these substances is collectively known as plaque, and this slow process is known as atherosclerosis.
The higher your blood pressure levels, the more risk you have for heart-related conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, and heart disease.
How Does High Blood Pressure Damage Your Arteries?
A regular, healthy adult should have flexible, strong, and elastic arteries with a smooth inner lining, allowing blood to flow freely. However, if a person is suffering from hypertension, it can cause some damage to your arteries leading to:
- Narrowed arteries: The increased pressure can damage the cells of your arteries’ inner lining, making fats easier to attach and build up to the damaged lining. The result is a decrease in elasticity, limiting blood flow throughout your body.
- Aneurysm: Over time, the constant pressure of blood moving through your damaged and weakened arteries can cause a section of its wall to enlarge and form a bulge. This condition is known as an aneurysm, where the bulge could potentially rupture and cause internal bleeding.
How Does High Blood Pressure Damage Your Heart?
Hypertension can cause a lot of problems to many organs in your body, including the heart. Some of those conditions include:
- Coronary heart disease: Damaged arteries have trouble supplying blood to your heart, which can lead to chest pain, irregular heart rhythms, or even a heart attack.
- Enlarged left heart: Since there’s too much pressure on your arteries, it forces your heart to work harder just to pump blood to the rest of your body. Your left ventricle, which is an important section of the heart, starts to thicken, increasing your risk of a heart attack.
- Heart failure: Over time, that strain on your heart will weaken your heart muscle, making it work less efficiently. Eventually, your overworked heart begins to fail.
The Bottom Line—Hypertension is a Silent Killer
All those heart conditions can happen inside your body without you knowing it. High blood pressure is sometimes called the “silent killer” since most people don’t feel any symptoms even as they develop those conditions. That’s why it’s important to have regular checkups to see if you have hypertension or if you’re already developing heart problems. The first step to prevention and cure is proper diagnosis.
If you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension or any heart problems, it’s best to seek the advice of a medical professional as soon as possible. Here at Pharmasave Summerside, we care about you and your heart. We provide a range of advanced diagnostic tests to evaluate your heart’s condition. Help us build a healthy community for all individuals. Contact Pharmasave Summerside for quality health care services.