A detailed explanation of the six major harms of hypertension: how it damages the health of the heart, brain, and kidneys.

What are the dangers of hypertension?

Generally, blood pressure rises with age, possibly by 1-2 mmHg per year. Patients gradually adapt, so most hypertensive patients experience no symptoms. However, the absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of damage. Generally, the harm of hypertension gradually becomes apparent 10-20 years after diagnosis, hence hypertension is often called a "silent killer."

Heart damage: Long-term hypertension can lead to myocardial cell hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis, causing left ventricular hypertrophy and dilation, resulting in "hypertensive heart disease." Left ventricular hypertrophy reduces coronary artery blood supply, especially during exercise. Furthermore, hypertension can cause coronary artery narrowing and plaque rupture, leading to myocardial infarction. In early-stage heart damage, echocardiography often reveals left ventricular hypertrophy and left atrial enlargement. Further progression leads to decreased cardiac function, reduced ejection fraction, and arrhythmias.

Aortic dissection: The aorta is the largest artery in the human body. Severe hypertension can cause a tear in the aortic intima, forming aortic dissection, a very dangerous disease with a very high mortality rate.

Stroke (also known as cerebral infarction): Long-term hypertension can cause ischemia and hardening of cerebral blood vessels, leading to the formation of microaneurysms. If these aneurysms rupture, they can cause cerebral hemorrhage. Hypertension can also promote atherosclerosis of cerebral arteries, rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, and sudden cerebral thrombosis, resulting in cerebral infarction.

Kidney damage: Long-term hypertension can cause atherosclerosis of renal arterioles and glomerular necrosis, leading to kidney failure. Patients with diabetes are at higher risk. A rapid increase in blood pressure can cause kidney failure within a short period, even leading to death.

Retinal damage: Long-term hypertension can cause narrowing, hardening, spasm, and hemorrhage of retinal arterioles, and can even lead to blindness.

Sexual dysfunction: Hypertension is also a common cause of erectile dysfunction in men.