Taking action right away to lower your blood pressure before you have high blood pressure or as soon as you find out you have blood pressure can lower your risk of developing several chronic illnesses. It may even save your life.
High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, puts a lot of stress on the body and its systems and organs.
According to the Mayo Clinic, hypertension can cause, in addition to other conditions:
- Artery narrowing, which limits blood flow throughout the body
- Aneurysms, which can cause life-threatening internal bleeding
- Coronary artery disease, which can lead to heart attacks
- Heart failure, which can be fatal
- Transient ischemic attack, which can indicate a risk for a stroke
- Stroke, which can be fatal
- Dementia
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Kidney failure, which might require dialysis or kidney transplantation
- Eye blood vessel damage, which can lead to blindness
- Choroidopathy, which can lead to vision impairment
- Erectile dysfunction
- Vaginal dryness
- Bone loss
- Trouble sleeping
