Hypertension is the Leading Cause of Heart Disease

Hypertension (chronic high blood pressure) is the leading cause of heart disease, and heart disease is the leading cause of heart attack.

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Hypertension

Helpful Highlights

Hypertension can cause many heart problems and is the leading cause of heart disease, also called coronary artery disease (CAD), where the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle itself are narrowed and damaged. Too little blood flow to the heart can lead to chest pain (angina), irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), or a heart attack.

Other heart problems include an enlarged or thickened left heart (the heart's main pumping chamber that delivers blood to the rest of the body), which is the leading cause of heart failure and contributes to the risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death, and heart failure due to the strain on the heart that weakens it over time.

So, what can your loved one do to prevent or control hypertension?

Hypertension prevention or control without medication

Medications used to control high blood pressure

How hypertension leads to heart attack

The strain and damage from prolonged high blood pressure cause the coronary arteries to become narrowed and hardened from plaque — a buildup of fat, cholesterol, and other substances — and increases the risk of blood clots forming.

When an artery becomes blocked due to plaque buildup or a blood clot, the flow of blood through the heart muscle is reduced or stopped, starving the muscle of oxygen and nutrients. The resulting damage or death of part of the heart muscle is a heart attack.

Hypertension causes more than heart disease

It can cause many complications throughout the body, especially in places where there are very tiny arteries present.

Talk with your loved one's provider about ideal blood pressure, weight, and diet, as well as the support available for achieving it. Many health plans have screening benefits, as well as benefits for exercise, nutrition, and monitoring devices (such as a blood pressure cuff).

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RESOURCES

American College of Cardiology (ACC)

American Heart Association (AHA)

National Institutes of Health Heart Lung & Blood Institute - The Heart Truth

World Heart Federation

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