Symptoms and risks of high blood pressure

Symptoms of hypertension include headaches (especially when rising), light headedness, dizziness, vision problems, black outs, weakness, palpitations (pounding or racing of the heart), chest pains and even nose bleeds. There are a lot of people that have no symptoms at all. That is why it is so important to go see your doctor regularly.

If left untreated for a long time, high blood pressure affects your entire body. The walls of your arteries get thick and less elastic which makes them less resistant to blood flow. Your heart has to work harder to push the blood through your arteries which makes its left ventricle become distended and hypertrophied (get bigger). When the left ventricle gets bigger, it could lead to CHF (Congestive Heart Failure). Due to the heart having to work so hard to keep the blood flowing, there is now poor blood circulation, so there is a risk of you having a stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, blood clots or even loss of limbs because your heart is not able to pump the blood that far.