Monday, March 26, 2012

What High Blood Pressure Can Do To You

By Gina Parks


High blood pressure can have many bad effects on your body's organs. What it can do to your heart is especially alarming. You should be aware that there is a close connection between hypertension and heart disease.

Moderate to high blood pressure significantly increases the load on the left side of the heart. Arterioles tend to become diseased or constricted, which would increase the resistance to blood flow. So the heart would have to work harder to pump blood into the arteries.

When muscles are overused, they increase in size and bulk. The heart muscles react the same way. An enlarged heart is not good.

You can detect heart enlargement in many ways. A chest x-ray can reveal it. So can an electrocardiogram or even a physical examination.

Hypertension usually causes the walls of the left ventricle to thicken. This increases the workload on the heart. In time, the heart will weaken, and the left side of the heart will no longer be able to pump blood adequately.

So the organs and tissues of the body would lack blood supply. Lethargy and weakness can then be observed in that person.

And because there is higher pressure in the left ventricle, blood from the lungs cannot drain properly into the atrium of the heart. The lung tissues would then get congested, causing breathlessness and coughs.

The patient would have dry cough or frothy phlegm with blood stains. This is a very scary experience to the sufferer and onlookers. During an acute attack, the patient would feel like he's choking to death.

You may first notice breathlessness caused by heart problems during lengthy physical exertion. If the person's condition progresses even further, then he might get breathless even when he's resting.

This is very serious and should be treated right away. If this should get worse, the right side of the heart will also be affected. When pressure builds up in the right atrium, it will be difficult for veins to drain blood into it.

When the heart's condition deteriorates to this stage, the external jugular veins may become enlarged and more prominent. These veins are naturally close to the skin, but heart condition may cause them to become very prominent.

There are several other symptoms of right side heart failure. They include an enlarged liver, swollen ankles and feet, loss of appetite, swollen abdomen and lower urine flow.

Hypertension and heart disease often have a cause and effect relationship. Keep your lifestyle healthy to avoid getting both.




About the Author:



Add to Technorati Favorites Bookmark and Share

0 comments:

Headache relief information

Low blood pressure treatment , Symptoms of headaches , Causes of headaches , Cure for hypertension , Blood pressure symptoms , 2012