Table of Contents
High blood pressure can injure the blood vessels in the eye's retina, causing a condition called retinopathy.
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Click the icon to see an image of hypertensive retinopathy. |
Sexual Dysfunction
Sexual dysfunction is more common and more severe in men with hypertension and in smokers than it is in the general population. Although older drugs used to treat hypertension caused erectile dysfunction as a side effect, the disease process that causes hypertension is itself a major cause of erectile dysfunction. Oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, such as sildenafil (Viagra), do not appear to pose a risk for most men who have both high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction. However, men who have uncontrolled or unstable hypertension should not take erectile dysfunction pills. Men who take nitrate medications for heart disease cannot take erectile dysfunction pills.
Pregnancy and High Blood Pressure
Many women who are likely to develop hypertension when they are older have their first elevated blood pressure readings during pregnancy. Elevated blood pressure readings generally show up early in pregnancy, before 16 - 20 weeks. (This condition is different than preeclampsia, described just below.) These women often require antihypertensive medications during pregnancy and closer monitoring of themselves and the fetus. Continued hypertension after the pregnancy is also not uncommon.
Severe, sudden high blood pressure in pregnant women is one component of a condition called preeclampsia (commonly called toxemia) that can be very serious for both mother and child. Preeclampsia occurs in up to 10% of all pregnancies, usually in the third trimester of a first pregnancy, and resolves immediately after delivery. Other symptoms and signs of preeclampsia include protein in the urine, severe headaches, and swollen ankles.
The reduced supply of blood to the placenta can cause low birth weight and eye or brain damage in the fetus. Severe cases of preeclampsia can cause kidney damage, convulsion, and coma in the mother and can be lethal to both mother and child. Women at risk for preeclampsia (particularly those with existing hypertension) are monitored carefully for its presence. Both mother and fetus are monitored closely after a diagnosis. Blood pressure medications may be required. Delivery is the main cure for preeclampsia. In severe cases, the obstetrician will need to induce pre-term birth.
Review Date: 04/06/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical
School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by
David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
