Relationship Hypertension to Atherosclerosis

Hypertension affects almost one-third of adults including more than 7 million patients in the US and is strongly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular disease including, coronary heart disease, acute coronary syndrome and stroke.

Hypertension causes premature death and disability by hastening the complications of atherosclerosis, the artery-clogging process that leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Hypertension mean that with each beat, arteries throughout the body swell and stretch more than they would normally. This stretching can injure the endothelium, the delicate lining of all arteries, causing arteries to become stiffer over time.

Epidemiologic studies have shown that hypertension increases the risk of sudden death or of dying from coronary heart disease or stroke. It also increases intermittent claudication.
Relationship Hypertension to Atherosclerosis