Complications of Untreated Hypertension

Uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to serious medical problems such as:

• Heart attack. The coronary arteries carry blood that delivers oxygen to the heart. If these vessels become blocked, a heart attack can occur.

• Enlarged heart. High blood pressure puts extra demand on the heart. Over time, the heart grows bigger to compensate for the extra work and, ultimately, weakens.

• Kidney damage. Over time, uncontrolled high blood pressure can cause narrowing of the arteries supplying the kidneys. High blood pressure also damages the kidneys directly and may lead to kidney failure. Kidney damage, in turn, raises blood pressure even more.

• Stroke. High blood pressure can cause narrowing of the arteries that supply the brain. If a blood clot forms and block a vessel, the subsequent lack of oxygen to the brain can cause a stroke. High blood pressure can also cause arteries in the brain to burst. The resulting bleeding into the brain produces a different kind of stroke.

• Atherosclerosis. High blood pressure causes the arteries to become hard and stiff, a condition often referred to as hardening of the arteries. This condition keeps blood from flowing through the body effectively and can lead to heart attack and stroke.

Related Articles What is Coronary Heart Disease? Facts about Congestive Heart Failure What is Hypertension? What Is Stroke?

External Source From the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, National Institutes of Health. May 2003.

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.

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