It is the elevation of blood pressure levels in a continuous or sustained way. The heart puts pressure on the arteries so that they lead the blood to the different organs of the human body. This action is known as blood pressure. The maximum or systolic pressure is obtained in each contraction of the heart and the minimum or diastolic, with each relaxation.
▪ Hypertension means increased resistance to the heart, which responds by increasing your muscle mass (left ventricular hypertrophy). In the long term, pathological hypertrophy (as opposed to hypertrophy that occurs with exercise) ends up being harmful, which can lead to angina, arrhythmias and heart failure.
▪ It promotes atherosclerosis (fatty plaques in the arteries) and thrombosis. It can also thin and dilate the aorta (aneurysm), which can lead to rupture causing the patient’s death.
▪ Therefore, elevated blood pressure figures (hypertension) can in the long run affect vital organs in humans, the heart and its prolongation in the aorta, brain and kidneys.
The arteries become stiff and narrow; causing lack of oxygen and subsequent transient stroke or cerebral infarction; but also the arteries can rupture and cause cerebral hemorrhage.
Hypertension decreases kidney irrigation, organs that filter all the impurities from the blood, and can affect the filtrate, leading to kidney failure that even requires dialysis. In addition, kidney disease itself can lead to increased hypertension.
It can affect the whole arterial tree of the body, causing claudicating of the lower limbs, involvement of the retina with alterations of vision; even affect the arteries of male reproductive organs producing impotence.
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Dr. Francisco Torres Calvo
Specialist in Cardiology
HC Marbella Hospital Internacional
April 12, 2017
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