High blood pressure: the silent killer
Generally one does not feel high blood pressure. It is usually discovered
during a chance check-up with the family doctor, or as a result of a medical
examination for an insurance company.
The consequences of high blood pressure only become apparent with the passage
of time.
Arteries thicken and constrict as a consequence of high blood pressure. The
heart needs to pump harder. Because of the constriction of the arteries the
blood flows with more and more difficulty, and an increasingly higher blood
pressure is required to let the blood flow to the various organs.
Because of the higher blood pressure the walls of the blood vessels can tear,
resulting in internal bleeding. If this occurs in the brain one speaks of a
brain haemorrhage.
Blood clots can form in the arteries because of the slower blood flow, and
are known as thromboses. If all this occurs in the heart, one speaks of a heart
attack. If it happens in the brain, one refers to a CVA.
In all cases the results are serious, sometimes with fatal consequences.
By regulating the blood pressure, one lowers the risk of brain haemorrhage,
thrombosis, heart attack, coronary infarct, ...
