25 Reasons to Get Your Blood Pressure Under Control

Controlling your blood pressure can make huge differences in your health.

Give yourself the chance for a healthier, longer life by getting your blood pressure under control today.

Getting our blood pressure taken at the doctor’s office is such a standard part of each visit for most of us that it’s easy to ignore our reading. Seeing our blood pressure climb slightly from appointment to appointment may not seem like a big deal at first, but all those little increases can add up to some pretty major issues over time. For all our medical advances, popping a pill won't help much when your arteries are under more pressure than Tom Brady on game day.

More than 1.13 billion people are struggling with high blood pressure around the globe, according to data collected by the World Health Organization. While increased awareness about salt consumption has improved the health of countless individuals, we’ve still seen blood pressure numbers rise steadily over the past half a century, and our increasing reliance on convenience food is doing us no favors in terms of our health.

While the news may be grim, the solution is simple: start lowering your blood pressure this minute by finding out the 20 Reasons to Ditch Salt From Your Diet Today and learn what long-term damage you could be doing if you don’t by discovering 20 Reasons to Get Your Blood Pressure Under Control!

Hypertension

Hypertension, defined as a blood pressure reading of 140/90 or higher, is usually the first diagnosis for those with climbing blood pressure. Unfortunately, the CDC reports that hypertension-related deaths increased by 23 percent in the United States from 2010 to 2013, proving that your very first elevated blood pressure reading should be motivation enou

Blood Clots

One of the scariest issues that accompanies high blood pressure is the forming of blood clots in the arteries. When one of these clots disrupts blood flow to your brain or travels to your lungs, it can kill you almost instantaneously.

gh to get your health under control. 

Dizziness

If you’re feeling constantly wiped out, your blood pressure may be to blame. When adequate blood isn’t making its way to your brain and organs, your body will let you know, more often than not by causing a level of fatigue that not even the best nap of your life can shake.

Kidney Scarring

Debilitating back pain, belly pain, or changes in your bathroom habits, could all be the result of high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure can lead to scarring on the kidneys, which can prove deadly if left untreated.

TIA

Keeping your brain healthy as you age starts with getting your blood pressure under control today. High blood pressure puts you at increased risk of a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, also referred to as a “mini stroke.” While they sometimes mimic the symptoms of a stroke, like loss of consciousness or numbness, they don’t always cause permanent brain damage, but TIAs can be an indication that a larger stroke is just around the corner. 

Kidney Failure

The artery-hardening effects high blood pressure has on your brain and heart can occur in your kidneys, too. As arteries in and around your kidneys become stiff, blood flow to these essential filtering organs becomes limited, often resulting in tissue death and organ failure.

Preeclampsia

Sudden high blood pressure that occurs during pregnancy or just after giving birth is known as preeclampsia, and it can have devastating effects on both mom and baby. Not only does preeclampsia increase your risk of miscarriage and stillbirth, it can also increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney damage.

Arterial Damage

High blood pressure puts a significant amount of stress on your arteries, and in many cases, it’s permanent. High blood pressure can stiffen your arteries to the point that they become brittle, increasing your risk of them rupturing or causing bleeding. This can also lead to the formation of blood clots that travel to the lungs, triggering a pulmonary embolism, or to the brain, causing a stroke.

Vision Loss

If your vision is getting worse, it could be the result of your high blood pressure. High blood pressure stresses the blood vessels in your eyes and can damage your optic nerve, leading to vision changes and vision loss over time.

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a group of health conditions that can make you a likely candidate for heart disease and diabetes — wouldn’t you know it — high blood pressure just so happens to be one of them. Fortunately, getting your blood pressure under control can get you out of the danger zone in no time. 

Enlarged Ventricles

High blood pressure can have detrimental effects on your heart that are often difficult, if not impossible to reverse. When your heart is trying harder to pump blood because of your high blood pressure, it can thicken the walls of your heart’s ventricles or even cause enlargement of the entire heart, putting you at elevated risk for a heart attack.

Bloat

When high blood pressure goes unchecked, it can have a profound effect on your digestion. When blood vessels in your digestive tract become stiff or rupture, it can cut off blood flow to parts of your intestines, causing inflammation and bloating while increasing your risk of heart attack, stroke, and intestinal bleeding.

Dementia

If you’re eager to keep your mind sharp as you age, there’s no time like the present to get your blood pressure into a healthy range. Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered a link between high blood pressure and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life, so keep that brain healthy today by getting those blood pressure numbers down.

Sexual Dysfunction

Finding it hard to perform in the bedroom? Your blood pressure could be to blame. When you have weakened blood vessels due to high blood pressure, it’s harder for your body to get adequate amounts of blood where it’s supposed to be going, making for a lackluster romantic life if left unchecked.

Weight Gain

Weight gain and high blood pressure are a duo you don’t want to get tangled up with. Many people find that as their weight increases, so does their blood pressure, and many others struggle with weight that creeps up along with their blood pressure. Research published in Cell Reports suggests that when renin-angiotensin systems, or RAS, a hormone that regulates blood pressure, is at elevated levels in the bloodstream, it can reduce an individual’s metabolic rate and their fat-burning capacity, predisposing them to obesity.

Miscarriage

High blood pressure is bad for you and it’s bad for your baby, too. While preeclampsia often occurs with no rhyme or reason, women who have high blood pressure before becoming pregnant are at increased risk for miscarriage, so it’s essential that anyone who is considering becoming pregnant get their numbers into a healthy range. 

Increased Waist Circumference

That high BP reading could be an indication that a bigger belt is in your future. As your blood pressure rises, the hormone RAS can decrease your metabolic rate and your body’s willingness to let go of excess fat, putting you at risk for obesity and a bigger belly.

Weakened Blood Vessels

High blood pressure puts a significant amount of stress on your blood vessels and arteries and can even lead to them leaking or bursting over time. The best bet for strong blood vessels and a decreased risk of blood clot, heart attack, and stroke is to get your blood pressure under control ASAP.

Angina

That pain in your chest is a signal something is very wrong. While angina doesn’t generally have the same devastating consequences as a heart attack, it’s your body’s way of letting you know that your heart isn’t receiving enough blood, a symptom that often goes hand-in-hand with high blood pressure.

Obesity

It’s hard to have a healthy BMI and high blood pressure at the same time. With elevated RAS levels come extra pounds, pushing you into clinical obesity before you know it. 

Internal Bleeding

All that stress you’re putting on your blood vessels and arteries when you have high blood pressure can take its toll. When your blood vessels and arteries weaken significantly, an aneurysm is often on its way, and when an aneurysm ruptures, potentially life-threatening internal bleeding isn’t far behind.

Aneurysm

High blood pressure can lead to aneurysm in virtually no time at all. As high blood pressure weakens the artery walls, it can lead to enlargement of individual arteries. When this occurs in the brain or heart, it can lead to sudden death. 

Cognitive Impairment

Your brain is your body's control center, but it doesn’t take long for high blood pressure to take the driver’s seat. When blood flow to your brain decreases, your risk of cognitive impairment rises significantly, thanks to tissue death in the brain.

Sleep Issues

Are you tossing and turning all night? It could be your blood pressure. High blood pressure can increase your risk of obesity, which makes you more likely to develop sleep apnea, a condition that can make getting a good night’s rest virtually impossible. Unfortunately, as your sleep duration decreases, weight gain often follows, creating a dangerous cycle that’s hard to break. 

Brain Damage

Whether it’s from reduced blood flow to your brain or an aneurysm, high blood pressure can cause serious brain damage. If you want to stay physically and mentally fit well into your golden years, getting your blood pressure under control is the best thing you can do for yourself and your family.