For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

15 Dangerous Effects Of High BP

What are the effects of high BP? Well, it gradually affects many other organs of your body. Before you even see any of its symptoms, it gradually affects the harmonious functioning of your body and suddenly gets life threatening. That is the reason why it is important to deal with high BP efficiently.

10 Worst Foods That Increase High Blood Pressure

Actually, high BP can be controlled a bit with the help of certain lifestyle changes. If you ignore it, then the chances of even a heart attack might increase. To put it in a nutshell, high BP affects almost all parts of your body. Your nervous system gets affected, your kidney may get damaged, your brain may get affected, your heart may suffer and so on. Now, let us take a deeper look at the effects of high BP.

Arteries

Arteries

High BP affects the lining of your arteries. When the arteries harden, arteriosclerosis may occur. When your arteries don't function well, they block the blood supply to certain parts of your body like your brain, kidneys and heart. Gradually, several other complications may arise. They include, kidney failure, heart attack, eye damage and so on.

Heart Failure

Heart Failure

In some cases, the left side of your heart might bulge. High BP makes it tough for your heart to pump blood. Gradually, the risk for heart failure might increase.

Cognitive issues

Cognitive issues

Cognitive impairment can occur due to age. But it can also occur due to damaged arteries. When high BP wrecks havoc, your arteries may get terribly damaged.

Aneurysm

Aneurysm

It can cause aneurysm. This condition is dangerous. It occurs when a weak artery bulges due to the blood pressure. This condition may result in internal bleeding too.

Vision

Vision

When the optic nerve gets damaged due to restricted blood circulation, then it might cause bleeding which further affects your vision. This is dangerous.

Bones

Bones

High BP also affects your skeletal system. When Calcium is eliminated from your body due to poor functioning of your kidneys, then your bone density gets affected and this is how high BP affects even your bones.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea

A study suggests that sleep apnea is seen more in people who suffer high BP. This might be one of the side effects of high BP. This means that high BP can also disturb your sleep.

Coronary-artery disease

Coronary-artery disease

It can cause coronary-artery disease. This disease can further restrict the blood circulation to your heart. That may result in chest pain or even heart attack.

Stress on the heart

Stress on the heart

When high BP causes a lot of stress on the heart, it loses its efficiency. Gradually, the heart starts wearing out and this might get life threatening.

TIA or mini stroke

TIA or mini stroke

High BP can disrupt the supply of blood to the brain. A mini-stroke is more like a warning sign. It means that you are likely to experience a major stroke, which can be life threatening.

Brain

Brain

Your brain needs its own supply of nutrients along with oxygen. What happens when the supply gets disturbed? Well, your brain cells might even go dead. High BP can cause damage to the blood vessels in your brain. When the flow of blood gets blocked, a stroke is likely to occur. This is one of the effects of high BP on brain.

Sex life

Sex life

High BP can spoil your sex life too. When the arteries are unable to function well, the flow of blood to the private parts gets restricted. It spoils the sex life of men. In fact, even in women, when the vagina is not supplied with enough blood, sex life suffers.

Dementia

Dementia

Dementia affects your thinking, reasoning, vision and even motion. Though there are several reasons behind this condition, one of them could be inefficient arteries. When the blood flow isn't in a proper way, things go wrong everywhere in the body.

Kidney failure

Kidney failure

Do you know the fact that high BP can also cause kidney failure? When the arteries around your kidneys get damaged, it is bad news for your kidneys. When your kidneys fail to filter waste, they simply demand for a transplant. This is one of the effects of high BP on kidneys.

Eyes

Eyes

High BP can damage the blood vessels that are supposed to supply blood to your eyes. If that happens, then your vision might suffer a bit. This is one of the side effects of high BP.

Story first published: Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 18:33 [IST]
Read more about: blood pressure heart