Heart – Hypertension can damage your heart in various ways. As the heart if forced to work harder to pump blood around damaged arteries, the left side often becomes swollen and enlarged. The stiffens the ventricles and fibers in your heart and makes it harder for the organ to work effectively. Eventually, due to a tightening of the arteries and vital parts of the heart, blood pressure will become higher and higher. It has been proven that people with high blood pressure are less likely to survive a heart attack.
Kidneys – The kidneys are particularly prone to damage in hypertension sufferers as the main arteries that run through the organs become damaged and worn down. This makes it harder for the kidneys, the organs that clean the body and pump out waste, to provide their vital function.
Brain – Due to a combination of factors associated with hypertension, including strained arteries and high blood pressure, the brain can fall victim to a stroke. This is where the brain is deprived of oxygen due to poor blood flow, often ending in fatal circumstances. Sometimes people will suffer from what is called a transient ischemic attack, which is a temporary blocking of blood flow to the brain. An episode like this is a sign that the body is at severe risk of suffering a debilitating stroke. Even diseases such as dementia can be caused by hypertension, again due to the fact that the oxygen needed for healthy brain growth is limited to the organ. Hypertension can affect the body in many ways, although it is the effects on these key areas and organs that need to be monitored.
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