How High Blood Pressure Affects Your Overall Health

Your blood pressure is a measurement of the force of blood against your blood vessel walls during and between heartbeats. Comprised of two numbers, a blood pressure reading can indicate a lot about your cardiovascular health and your overall health. 

You’ve probably heard a thing or two about your blood pressure from your primary care provider, but how do you interpret the reading? A typical healthy blood pressure reading is 120/60 Hg. The first number is your systolic reading, which is the blood pressure against your vessel walls during a heart contraction, while the second is the blood pressure between heart contractions. 

Your blood pressure is elevated if it’s 120-129 systolic. If your blood pressure is over 130/80, you’re in the early stages of hypertension or high blood pressure. 

Your provider at Physicians Weight Loss Center Highlands Ranch helps you understand your blood pressure reading and can tell you what you need to do to manage your blood pressure. 

The Physicians Weight Loss Center Highlands Ranch team closely monitors your blood pressure as you complete a personalized weight loss program at their office in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Regular blood pressure readings are important because hypertension doesn’t typically cause any symptoms. 

If you have elevated blood pressure or hypertension, lifestyle changes, weight management, and possible medications could spare you from dangerous complications in the future. Here’s everything you need to know about the impact of high blood pressure on your health. 

High blood pressure and the cardiovascular system

When your blood pressure is high, it means your heart must work harder to pump oxygenated blood throughout your body. As your cardiovascular system works harder, it also becomes less efficient. 

High blood pressure isn’t just hard on your heart but also on your blood vessels. Your arteries are comprised of delicate tissues that can accumulate damage because of a high force of blood. Tiny tears often appear along your inner blood vessels, and plaque can build up along them. This is the start of atherosclerosis, which makes your arteries narrower and raises your blood pressure even higher. 

Over time, unmitigated high blood pressure increases the risk of various cardiovascular conditions and life-threatening events including:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Aneurysms
• Heart failure 
• Arrhythmias

Rarely, blood pressure can rise so high it causes a hypertensive crisis, which is an emergency and can cause symptoms like chest pain, nausea, and dizziness. If you’re at risk for this, your doctor might recommend regular blood pressure testing throughout the day.

Even if you don’t feel like anything is wrong because of the lack of symptoms, high blood pressure can cause damage that could shorten your lifespan. 

Other health effects of high blood pressure

High blood pressure can affect the function of your organs, leading to an array of health risks that many people don’t suspect. Beyond the heart and vascular system, hypertension can lead to:

• Sexual dysfunction
• Vision loss
• Kidney disease
• Kidney failure
• Dementia
• Cognitive impairment

A personalized weight management program doesn’t just lower the number on the scale: With support from a medical weight loss expert, you can lower your blood pressure and avoid the health risks of hypertension. 

Schedule a weight loss consultation online or over the phone at Physicians Weight Loss Center Highlands Ranch to learn more about hypertension and your weight today.