High Blood Pressure Risks

High blood pressure is a condition that affects one out of three adults in the U.S., according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. This "silent killer," also called hypertension, poses an especially high risk because there are no symptoms.

Definition

• The American Heart Association defines high blood pressure as a systolic (pressure while heart is at rest) reading equal or higher than 140 mmHg or a diastolic (pressure while heart is beating) reading equal or higher than 90 mmHg.

Heart Failure

• High blood pressure may weaken or enlarge the heart over time, possibly leading to heart failure, a heart condition that occurs when the heart can no longer pump enough blood throughout the body.

Blindness

• Hypertension can cause the eye's vessels to narrow, thicken or burst, leading to blindness.

Kidney Failure

• High blood pressure is a major contributor to kidney failure because it can weaken the kidney's blood vessels over time.

Atherosclerosis

• Hypertensive people are at risk for atherosclerosis, the thickening and hardening of the arteries.

Stroke

• Atherosclerosis, combined with increased pressure along the walls of the arteries, contributes to strokes, which occur when the blood vessels in the brain rupture or become blocked.