What are the complications of hypertension? Important Facts to Know about High Blood Pressure

What are the complications of hypertension? Important Facts to Know about High Blood Pressure
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Hypertension

Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. It is defined as a condition in which the patient repeatedly has high blood pressure readings. A high blood pressure reading is one that is 140/90 mmHg or higher. Hypertension can affect children and adults.

What are the complications of hypertension? The list of possible complications of high blood pressure is lengthy. Compiled from various medical sources, they have been broken up into sections for easier review.

Organs

The noted complications of hypertension involving organs affect organs such as the heart, kidneys and brain. They include:

  • Heart failure
  • Left ventricular hypertrophy
  • Left-side heart failure
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Kidney disease
  • Kidney failure (end-stage-renal-disease/ESRD)
  • Heart attack
  • Stoke (cerebral infarction)
  • Memory impairment
  • Brain lesions

Eyes/Vision

There are a number of complications that involve the eyes and vision. They include, but are not limited to:

  • Retinal damage
  • Hypertensive retinopathy
  • Eye complications
  • Impaired vision
  • Vision loss

Blood, Veins, Arteries and Other

The complications of hypertension that involve blood, arteries and veins are as follows:

  • Aneurysm
  • Aneurysm rupture
  • Hemorrhagic stroke
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Blood vessel damage
  • Blocked or ruptured blood vessels (brain)
  • Weak or narrow blood vessels (kidneys)
  • Thick, torn or narrow blood vessels (eyes)
  • Arterial damage
  • Atherosclerosis (plaque build-up in arteries)
  • Angina (chest pain due to insufficient blood flow to heart)
  • Metabolic syndrome

Statistics

It is important to not only look at the complications themselves, but also at the number of people affected each year by hypertension, as well as the accompanying complications. This allows for the risk may to be more accurately assessed.

It should be noted that hypertension is a leading cause of kidney failure. According to Wrong Diagnosis (WD), every year hypertension creates approximately 15,000 new cases in the U.S.A.

Also noted on WD:

  • 16% of new cases of end-stage renal disease were due to hypertension in Australia 2002 (McDonald & Russ, 2003, Australia’s Health 2004, AIHW)
  • 91,636 under treatment for ESRD resulting from hypertension in the USA 2001 (United States Renal Data System 2003 Annual Data Report, 2003)

An article published in The New York Times states that hypertension contributes to 75 percent of all heart attacks and strokes, and is especially deadly to African-Americans.

References

High Blood Pressure (hypertension): Complications. Mayo Clinic Staff. August 7, 2008. https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/DS00100/DSECTION=complications

Complications of Hypertension. https://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/h/hypertension/complic.htm

Complications of hypertension. U.S. News & World Report. Excerpt from Johns Hopkins White Paper on Hypertension & Stroke. Updated May 23, 2006. https://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/heart/hypertension/hyper.about.complications.htm

Hypertension Complications. The New York Times. In-Depth from A.D.A.M. (American Accreditation Healthcare Commission). Reviewed by Alan Berger, MD on July 15, 2008.https://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hypertension/complications.html

Hypertension. Medline Plus. Updated by Steven Kang, MD on April 23, 2009. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000468.htm