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What Are the Signs and Symptoms of High Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure (HBP) itself usually has no signs or symptoms. Rarely, headaches may occur.
You can have HBP for years without knowing it. During this time, the condition can damage your heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body.
Some people only learn that they have HBP after the damage has caused problems, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, or kidney failure.
Knowing your blood pressure numbers is important, even when you're feeling fine. If your blood pressure is normal, you can work with your health care team to keep it that way. If your blood pressure is too high, you can take steps to lower it. Lowering your blood pressure will help reduce your risk for related health problems.
Complications of High Blood Pressure
When blood pressure stays high over time, it can damage the body. HBP can cause:
- The heart to get larger or weaker, which may lead to heart failure. Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
- Aneurysms (AN-u-risms) to form in blood vessels. An aneurysm is an abnormal bulge in the wall of an artery. Common spots for aneurysms are the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the body; the arteries in the brain, legs, and intestines; and the artery leading to the spleen.
- Blood vessels in the kidneys to narrow. This may cause kidney failure.
- Arteries throughout the body to narrow in some places, which limits blood flow (especially to the heart, brain, kidneys, and legs). This can cause a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or amputation of part of the leg.
- Blood vessels in the eyes to burst or bleed. This may lead to vision changes or blindness.
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Managing High Blood Pressure With Lifestyle Changes Clinical trials are research studies that explore whether a medical strategy, treatment, or device is safe and effective for humans. To find clinical trials that are currently underway for High Blood Pressure, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
October 10, 2012
NIH grantees win 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to National Institutes of Health grantees Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D., of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; and Brian K. Kobilka, M.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., for studies of protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals.
The Heart Truth®—a national heart disease awareness campaign for women—is sponsored by the NHLBI. The campaign's goal is to give women a personal and urgent wakeup call about their risk for heart disease.
Every woman has a story to tell and the power to take action to protect her heart health. Share your story with other women on Facebook.
The Heart Truth campaign offers a variety of public health resources to help educate women and health professionals about women’s heart disease.
Learn more about key campaign events, activities, and resources at www.hearttruth.gov.
The NHLBI updates Health Topics articles on a biennial cycle based on a thorough review of research findings and new literature. The articles also are updated as needed if important new research is published. The date on each Health Topics article reflects when the content was originally posted or last revised.
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