Why is high blood pressure a cardiovascular risk factor?

Question

how does high blood pressure put strain on the heart and arteries ?

Answer 1

Normal arteries are elastic and when the heart beats blood into them, they and accomodate the extra pressure.

If arteries are harder than they should be - less elastic - or narrower than normal, the heart must beat much more strongly to pump the blood round. Eventually, the heart muscle grows bigger to try to deal with the extra loading, but big swollen heart muscle (hypertrophy) is not that efficient, and after a while, the heart starts to fail.

The other factor is that if the arteries are hardened and narrowed, that would include the coronary arteries - the arteries that supply the heart muscle itself. If these arteries are progressively narrowing, there can come a time when they hardly allow any blood through, and the muscle they're meant to supply starts getting starved of oxygen - particularly with increased physical effort. This is called angina.

If those coronary arteries are very narrow, they can also become completely blocked - that's a heart attack.

Lastly, if there's any weakness in the wall of an artery, increased pressure through it can cause that weak spot to balloon, and that may eventually rupture. (Aneurysm or Stroke)

Answer 2

1 - if there is a weak spot in any artery or vein, increasing the pressure inside it will result in it giving way - aneurysms or haemorrhaegic strokes within the brain could result.
2 - the heart has to work harder as a result, which causes increased muscle building within the heart itself, specifically the left side. This is known as LVH (left ventricular hypertrophy) and can ultimately result in heart attacks, which mean tissue death & possibly yours.
3 - Pressure within the kidneys during filtration of the blood means that filtering becomes less effective. Imagine trying to sieve potatoes - if you pushed on them, you would eventually push the potatoes through the fabric of the sieve. This is what blood pressure does to the kidney. Molecules get pushed through & the kidney tissue gets damaged as a result. Over a long period this results in kidney failure & the need for transplant - due to lack of donors, really dialysis.
4 - Pressure builds inside the blood vessels inside the eye - these may burst, leading to blindness.

It's not a pretty picture, which is why its really important to get treated, even though you may not actually feel unwell due to your high BP.

Answer 3

Blood pressure exceeding normal values is called arterial hypertension. It itself is only rarely an acute problem; see hypertensive crisis. But because of its long-term indirect effects (and also as an indicator of other problems) it is a serious worry to physicians diagnosing it.

All levels of blood pressure put mechanical stress on the arterial walls. Higher pressures increase heart workload and progression of unhealthy tissue growth (atheroma) that develops within the walls of arteries. The higher the pressure, the more stress that is present and the more atheroma tend to progress and the heart muscle tends to thicken, enlarge and become weaker over time.

Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, arterial aneurysms, and is the second leading cause of chronic renal failure after diabetes mellitus.

In the past, most attention was paid to diastolic pressure; but nowadays it is recognised that both high systolic pressure and high pulse pressure (the numerical difference between systolic and diastolic pressures) are also risk factors. In some cases, it appears that a decrease in excessive diastolic pressure can actually increase risk, due probably to the increased difference between systolic and diastolic pressures (see the article on pulse pressure).

Answer 4

High blood pressure affects the blood vessels, causing them to clog or become weak. It is therefore one of the important factors causing:

Heart Attacks (from blockages in the heart arteries)
Strokes (blockages or weakening of vessels to the brain)
Kidney Failure from injury to the kidney and its blood vessels. It is a major cause of kidney failure (renal failure) which may require dialysis
Heart Failure is a frequent occurrence in long standing hypertension. The heart initially compensates for the increased work of pushing against the elevated pressure in the vessels by becoming thick (hypertrophied). The person with this thickening may not notice any problems even at this stage. Eventually the muscle can weaken, and heart failure can occur.

Answer 5

The pressure is higher because there may be some narrowing in the arteries and the blood has to force harder to get through.
Narrowing of the arteries is associated with heart problems because if they are sufficiently narrowed then heart may have a poorer blood supply than it needs.

Answer 6

High blood pressure is called the silent killer because it usually has no symptoms. Some people may not find out they have it until they have trouble with their heart, brain, or kidneys. When high blood pressure is not found and treated, it can cause:

The heart to get larger, which may lead to heart failure.
Small bulges (aneurysms (AN-u-risms)) to form in blood vessels. Common locations are the main artery from the heart (aorta); arteries in the brain, legs, and intestines; and the artery leading to the spleen.
Blood vessels in the kidney to narrow, which may cause kidney failure.
Arteries throughout the body to "harden" faster, especially those in the heart, brain, kidneys, and legs. This can cause a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or amputation of part of the leg.
Blood vessels in the eyes to burst or bleed, which may cause vision changes and can result in blindness.

Answer 7

Imagine your blood vessels are plumbing pipes. If the pressure is high, the blood is continuously pushing against the walls of those pipes, slowly weakening the walls over time, until they finally bust. (That's called an aneurysm.) However, unlike pipes, if blood vessels are continuously exposed to high blood pressure, they can build up and make their walls thicker and thicker. If you think about it, that will make the hole through which the blood goes smaller and smaller, making it easier to clot off. (That's called a thrombus.) Either one is bad, bad, bad.

Answer 8

one reason is that it cause the heart to pump more blood and make more beats in a minute that its normal rate. this cause more strain on the heart and cause it to make more work weakening the cardiac muscles. in addition to that it cause the blood to hit with more strength and pressure on the arteries wall so might cause its rapture

Answer 9

High blood pressure puts constant strain on your heart, increasing the chances of heart or vascular failure.

Answer 10

It can be explained in three headlines; Modifiable factors: *Lack of exercise *smoking *Excessive alcohol consumption *Obesity *Unhealthy diet *Stress Non-modifiable factors: *Age *Sex *Race *Family History Other Risk Factors: Which include, problem with the blood vessels, kidney diseases, hormonal imbalances like hyper- adrenalism and aldosteronism, congenital anomalies like coarctation of Aorta, certain types of drugs like antidepressants, Non-steroidal ant inflammatory pain killers, contraceptives, steroids and cocaine all could put the person at risk.