What is the implication of hypertension? -

When you have hypertension your heart has to work much harder to pump the blood around your body which leads to heart attacks, enlarged heart and can lead to congestive heart failure.

High blood pressure is the #1 risk factor for stroke. Hypertension also can damage internal organs (kidneys are especially vulnerable).

Hypertension can cause some serious, irreversible problems if not treated amp; kept under control. High blood pressure makes the heart work harder all the time, as well ask works the kidneys- they heart amp; kidneys work closely together (and frequently problems with the kidneys are what causes high BP). This eventually causes CHF (Congestive Heart Failure). Partly of this occurs from what s called quot;Left Ventricular Hypertrophy.quot; This means that because there is so much blood being pumped through your body, and your heart has to work so much more, the heart muscle becomes thicker... sounds like it might compensate for the amount of blood, but it doesn t. Instead, since the wall of the pumping chamber of the heart is now thicker, that means that the pumping chamber itself is now smaller... which means that less blood is being pumped out with each beat of the heart. As a person gets older, if their blood pressure is still high, it can break off bits of plaque that has accumulated in their vessels, thus causing other problems. For example, a common location for plaque build-up is in the Carotid Artery... well, some plaque gets knocked loose amp; goes right upstream to the brain causing a stroke. Similarly, if plaque is now loose in your blood stream, it can then get quot;stuckquot; in the vessels in the lungs (causing pulmonary embolism... which could kill somebody) or in the coronary arteries (which could kill somebody, too). Either way, hypertension s nothing to mess with, and it s more important than most people think to take their medications amp; keep it under control.

Feeling lonely may hurt your heart in more ways than one. A University of Chicago study of 229 men and women between the ages of 50 and 68 showed that those who said they lacked companionship were more likely to have elevated blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. People who felt the loneliest had systolic blood pressures (the top number) 10 to 30 mm Hg higher than those who felt the least lonely. Though the extent of the rise in blood pressure increased with age, the link between loneliness and blood pressure remained after accounting for age, weight, smoking, depression, and other risk factors for hypertension. The authors of the study point out that the magnitude of the effects of loneliness on blood pressure was as great as the reduction in blood pressure expected to result from weight loss or increased exercise. There s more news linking loneliness and the risk of cardiovascular disease. A Harvard study has shown an association between loneliness among men and an increase in a type of inflammation linked to cardiovascular disease. In addition, a Duke study has found that socially isolated patients with heart disease have a higher risk of death. These findings are especially significant now, as the U.S. population is aging and more people are living alone. Some research suggests that a feeling of isolation and a lack of companionship may affect more than 11 million elderly Americans as friends and family move, become ill, or die. I agree with the authors of the Chicago study, who suggest paying more attention to family and friends and getting involved in volunteer work and other activities that make you feel useful.