Chronic hypertension natural history

Hypertension Main page
Overview
Causes
Classification Primary Hypertension Secondary Hypertension Hypertensive Emergency Hypertensive Urgency
Screening

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Assistant Editor-In-Chief: Taylor Palmieri

Overview

Hypertension is a well-established risk factor for several serious diseases. Chronic uncontrolled hypertension can be complicated by target organ damage. Most common damaged organs include the cardiovascular system, the brain, the kidneys, and the retina. Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to a shortened life expectancy. At severely high mean arterial pressures, 50% or more above average, a person can expect to live no more than just a few years unless appropriately treated.

Complications

While elevated blood pressure alone is not an illness, it often requires treatment due to its short- and long-term effects on many organs. There is an increased risk of:

• Cerebrovascular accident (CVAs or strokes)
• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Hypertensive cardiomyopathy (heart failure due to chronically high blood pressure)
• Hypertensive retinopathy - damage to the retina
• Hypertensive nephropathy - chronic renal failure due to chronically high blood pressure

Prognosis

Hypertension cannot be completely cured .It can be well controlled under the normal limits if one tries to follow lifestyle preventive measures like exercising, eating a heart healthy diet, avoiding the different risk factors like high cholesterol salty diet, smoking alcohol intake,stress.Besides that medications are given as mentioned above.But if not well-controlled it can lead to various complications as are described below.So it is always important to maintain a healthy diet and active lifestyle.<refhttp://www.americanheart.org/</ref>