The WHO estimates that 600 million people with high blood pressure (HBP) are at risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiac failure.
Raised blood pressure changes the structure of the arteries. As a result, risks of stroke, heart disease, kidney failure and other diseases increase, not only in people with hypertension but also in those with average, or even below-average, blood pressure.
Long-standing high blood pressure leads to left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction that cause an increase in myocardial rigidity, which renders the myocardium less compliant to changes in the preload, afterload, and sympathetic tone.
According to the Framingham Study, hypertension accounts for about one quarter of heart failure cases. In the elderly population, as many as 68% of heart failure cases are attributed to hypertension.
Diet – especially too much salt – alcohol, lack of exercise and obesity all raise blood pressure, and these effects accumulate with age.
Hypertension: Risk factor for heart failure
