Surgery for Hypertensive Heart Disease

Hypertension is the clinical term for high blood pressure. Left unmanaged, it leads to hypertensive heart disease, a leading cause of death in the United States. Hypertension is called the "silent killer," as it has no symptoms. You must have your blood pressure checked to know if you have hypertension. Problems from hypertensive heart disease include stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure.
There is no surgery for hypertensive heart disease, but there are treatments.

Surgery

• According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no surgical procedure to treat hypertensive heart disease. However, many of the complications from the disease, such as heart failure, do require surgeries. These include heart valve repairs, artificial valves, repairs of the aorta wall, and coronary bypass surgery to replace arteries blocked by plaque or blood clots.

Definition

• Blood pressure consists of two numbers. The first, systolic, is the pressure on your arterial walls when your heart is pumping your blood. The second, diastolic, is the pressure when your heart expands to bring in blood to pump. If your blood pressure is 140/90 or higher it is considered high and you need treatment. If it is between 120/80 and 139/89, it is considered prehypertension and you are at risk for developing hypertensive heart disease.

Prevention/Management

• If you are prehypertensive or have hypertension you must watch your blood pressure and keep it down: Stay at a healthy weight, be active, and use the "DASH" diet recommended by the American Heart Association to reduce your blood pressure. The DASH diet excludes alcohol and is low in saturated fat, total fat, sugar and cholesterol; high in fruits, vegetables and lowfat dairy foods; and rich in potassium.

Drug Treatment

• If hypertensive heart disease develops, anti-hypertensive medications may become necessary. Diuretics are used to reduce water retention. Excess water in your body puts stress on your heart.
  Beta-blockers are drugs that slow nerve impulses so your heart needs less oxygen and does not work so hard.
  Angiotensin-converting enzyme—or ACE—inhibitors facilitate relaxation of muscles, causing the blood vessels to enlarge or dilate, thereby reducing blood pressure.

Left Ventrical Hypertrophy

• Among people with hypertensive heart disease, 15 percent to 20 percent will develop left ventricle hypertrophy. LVH increases the thickness of the left ventricle and weakens its pumping ability. Research shows ACE inhibitors used aggressively can be effective in treating LVH. Sometimes, LVH develops when high blood pressure causes aortic valve failure. This can be repaired with surgery to replace the valve with an artificial one or one from a pig, a cow or a human donor.