Complications

Complications

Hypertension places stress on several organs (called target organs), including the kidneys, eyes, and heart, causing them to deteriorate over time. High blood pressure was directly responsible for nearly 44,619 American deaths in 2000 and was listed as the primary or contributing cause of death in an estimated 118,000 cases. High blood pressure contributes to 75% of all strokes and heart attacks. It is particularly deadly in African Americans.

Research suggests that prehypertension is also a serious risk factor for heart complications. A 2005 study found that people with prehypertension are three times more likely to have a heart attack, and nearly twice as likely to develop coronary artery disease as people with normal blood pressure.

Emergency Conditions

Malignant hypertension, an emergency condition resulting from untreated primary hypertension, can be lethal.

Stroke

About two-thirds of people who suffer a first stroke have moderate elevated blood pressure (160/95 mm Hg) or above. Hypertensive people have up to 10 times the normal risk of stroke, depending on the severity of the blood pressure. Hypertension is also an important cause of so-called silent cerebral infarcts, blockages in the blood vessels in the brain that may predict major stroke or progression to dementia over time.

Mental Problems and Dementia

Uncontrolled chronic high blood pressure is also associated with reduced short-term memory and mental abilities. Isolated systolic hypertension may pose a particular risk for complications in the brain. Fortunately, controlling blood pressure with medications can reduce or even prevent memory loss and mental decline due to hypertension. (Anti-hypertensive drugs may even help protect against Alzheimer's disease in people with genetic susceptibility to this disease.)

Heart Disease

Among older patients, high blood pressure is the major risk factor for heart disease. Two studies in 2001 reported that high blood pressure in young men also poses a higher risk for heart disease later on, and, in one of the studies, fewer years of life.

Heart Attack. About half of people who suffer their first heart attack have moderate hypertension (160/95 mm Hg) or greater. High blood pressure increases the risk for a heart attack by up to five times, depending on the severity of the hypertension.