In 2000, nearly 45,000 Americans died as a result of high blood pressure, according to Healthcentral.com. Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure is a medical condition that has no identifiable cause in more than 90 percent of the adults who suffer from it. It does, however, cause severe health complications if left untreated.
Risk of Stroke
An elevated blood pressure can result in a hardening of the arteries, known as artherosclerosis. Subsequently, this can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Healthcentral.com states that two-thirds of people suffering from their first stroke also suffer from an elevated blood pressure of 160/95 or higher--according to the National Institutes of Health, 120/80 or lower is considered normal.
People diagnosed with hypertension are 10 times more likely to suffer from a stroke than those who do not. It also plays a large role in the development of blockages in the blood vessels of the brain responsible for a massive stroke.
Heart Failure
According to healthcentral.com, 75 to 90 percent of all heart failure incidents are preceded by high blood pressure. While hypertension contributes to heart failure in more ways than one, the major cause is the thickening of the heart muscles.
As blood pressure rises, the heart must work harder to pump the increased amount of blood flowing through it. This, in turn, causes the heart muscles to weaken which, over time, results in weakened contractions. Eventually, the heart fails as the muscles have a more difficult time relaxing and filling the heart with blood.
Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a condition that occurs only during pregnancy and is a sudden, severe rise in blood pressure. This poses a serious health risk for both mother and child and occurs in up to 10 percent of all pregnancies, usually in the third trimester.
Preeclampsia occurs when the placenta does not connect properly in the mother's uterus; this means the placenta does not connect with the mother's blood vessels either. Because of the lost connection, the fetus fails to receive enough blood, while the mother's blood pressure increases to compensate for the loss.
This condition can cause the newborn to be a lower birth weight. He may also suffer from eye or brain damage as well. The mother, in severe cases, may suffer from convulsions or kidney damage. She may also fall into a coma. In worst case scenarios, both mother and child die as a result of this condition.
Risk of Kidney Disease
Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease) and high blood pressure are closely related, according to Healthcentral.com. In fact patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes who display signs of nephropathy already suffer from hypertension.
High blood pressure is also responsible for 30 percent of all end-stage kidney diseases. And the only condition that leads to more cases of kidney failure than hypertension is diabetes.
