High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is nicknamed the "silent killer." That’s because this common condition often has no symptoms and can go undetected for years before causing severe, even life-threatening complications.
At Bethel Family Medicine in Brockton, Massachusetts, our top-tier medical providers advocate preventive care, including routine blood pressure screenings. At our practice, these screenings are part of your annual exam — for good reason.
Here’s what the Bethel team wants you to know about this simple test.
Your blood pressure consists of two numbers:
That’s the first number. It measures the pressure your blood exerts on the artery walls when your heart beats.
That’s the second number. It measures the pressure your blood exerts on the artery walls while the heart muscle rests between beats.
A higher systolic or diastolic reading may indicate high blood pressure. However, the systolic number reveals more about the risk of heart disease for patients 50 and older.
If you’re diagnosed with hypertension, the blood flowing through your arteries puts too much pressure on the blood vessels. This ongoing pressure eventually damages the structures of the artery. The wall becomes less elastic and stiffens, making it more difficult for blood to flow.
Hypertension also creates rough spots on the artery wall. These changes dramatically increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and organ damage.
Hypertension can affect any artery in your body and frequently causes problems in multiple blood vessels. As a result, hypertension can lead to dangerous scenarios, including:
Atherosclerosis is a buildup of cholesterol and other fats, such as triglycerides, in and on the artery walls. This buildup, called plaque, can narrow your arteries and block blood flow.
Atherosclerosis can cause severe problems, including:
Without treatment, these conditions progress. Eventually, a hardened artery significantly or entirely blocks the blood supply. When this occurs or the plaque ruptures and causes a blood clot, you can suffer a life-threatening event.
Atherosclerosis is the leading reason for heart attacks, strokes, chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, and leg ulcers.
As your arteries harden and stiffen, your heart must work harder to move blood through your body. This stress negatively impacts your heart muscles and electrical system, potentially causing issues such as heart failure, irregular heart rhythms, or an enlarged heart.
Ongoing hypertension is a prime cause of aortic aneurysms. An aneurysm develops when a weakened area in the artery wall bulges out. The bulge continues to enlarge, potentially rupturing and leading to life-threatening internal bleeding.
Narrowed arteries may limit blood flow to the brain without causing such a severe blockage that you have a stroke. However, the limited supply of oxygen can still lead to mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia.
Hypertension can damage the delicate arteries that carry blood to your eyes. Damaged blood vessels in the retina can cause fluid leakage under the retina and harm the optic nerve.
Untreated high blood pressure can also damage the light-sensing cells in the retina, causing hypertensive retinopathy. Any of these conditions can lead to blurry and distorted vision and even permanent vision loss.
The good news is that with an annual blood pressure screening, you can catch and treat hypertension before complications arise.
To book your blood pressure check and for all of your family’s primary healthcare needs, contact us today to start your journey toward better health.
