Hypertension Associated Conditions

Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to other health conditions including:

Aneurysm:
An increase in blood pressure can weaken blood vessels, causing them to bulge and create an aneurysm. An aneurysm can be life-threatening if it ruptures.

Dementia:
Vascular dementia happens when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. It’s caused by narrowed or blocked arteries or a stroke that limits blood flow to the brain.

Eyes
High blood pressure can eventually cause the blood vessels in the eyes to thicken, narrow or even tear, resulting in vision loss.

Heart attack or stroke:
High blood pressure is the major risk factor for stroke due to the hardening and thickening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). It can also lead to a heart attack or other heart complications.

Heart failure (Left Ventricular Hypertrophy):
Untreated high blood pressure eventually weakens the heart muscle, after the muscle first becomes thickened. Over time, the heart becomes damaged by the extra strain from working hard to pump blood through arteries that have narrowed from plaque buildup (from fat, cholesterol and other substances). Blood clots are now likely to form in this environment. When blood flow is blocked by plaque and blood clots it can cause a heart attack.

Kidneys:
Hypertension can eventually weaken and narrow the blood vessels in the kidneys, which makes them not function properly.

Memory/Confusion
Hypertension can decrease or block blood flow to the brain, which can happen during a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or mini-stroke.

Metabolic syndrome:
This syndrome increases your risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Risk factors include increased waist circumference, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol, high blood pressure and high insulin levels.