High cholesterol and blood sugar levels are often talked about, but the dangers of having high blood pressure need to be discussed more and fully understood in order to have a healthier and long life. Blood pressure is the force at which the blood pushes against the walls of the arteries, and issues with blood pressure now can have a negative impact on your future. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help prevent high blood pressure. Following are 5 dangers of having high blood pressure.

Increased Risk Of Heart Attack

This is true for men and women. When blood pressure is high, damage to the cells of your arteries’ inner lining can occur. This can make the lining stiff and thick, and blood flow can start to flow less freely to your heart and other essential organs, eventually resulting in issues such as a heart attack.

This is especially important for pregnant women to take note of. In fact, high blood pressure during pregnancy can considerably raise the risk of experiencing heart or kidney disease later in life.

“Women who had any high blood pressure during pregnancy had 14 percent to over 100 percent higher risk of cardiovascular diseases later in life, compared to women with normal blood pressure during pregnancy.” – EurekAlert!

Cognitive Issues

Research has shown that middle aged people with high blood pressure may experience issues with their memory and thinking in later years, making the goal for many to find a solution to high blood pressure even more pressing than some might think.

A study published in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, noted the blood pressure of 4,057 people who had no dementia at around the age of 50. At around the age of 76, they were reassessed and the study found that the people who had high blood pressure in their younger years were more likely to have lesions on the brain than the people who had low blood pressure in their younger years. Furthermore, the participants with high blood pressure in their middle years experienced lower memory scores and thinking problems later in life.

Brain Damage

When your blood pressure is high, and your blood starts to slow down and flow less freely, your brain can be affected negatively. Your brain, like all other organs, depends on a healthy blood flow to work properly. When it doesn’t, issues such as dementia and brain shrinkage can occur. Researchers say that high blood pressure can damage the brain’s ability to function as early as middle age.

Kidney Failure

The kidneys are an essential organ in the body that filter out waste. High blood pressure can affect the blood vessels that lead to your kidneys as well as the blood vessels inside the kidneys. When kidney failure occurs, waste can accumulate in the body and life-long dialysis, which helps to purify blood in the same way the kidney does, may be needed.

Vision Loss

High blood pressure can impact the vessels in the eyes and cause them to narrow or bleed. The optic nerve can also swell when blood pressure is high. If this is left untreated, a cumulative effect of damage can occur and permanent damage is possible.

When it comes to high blood pressure, it has been shown that people visiting the emergency room for high blood pressure related issues has increased by 25% in recent years. Therefore, this is an issue that needs to be focused on and dealt with for immediate and long-term health.