High Blood Pressure is Fatal for Life

Blood pressure is defined by the pressure which is exerted by circulation of blood upon the walls of blood vessels. Every time the heart beats, it pumps out blood into the arteries. The blood travels through the arteries, capillaries, and other parts of the body keeping the whole body in equilibrium. Blood pressure gets affected by the hydrostatic forces when an individual is standing, breathing and during the expansion and contraction of body muscles. Every year more than 795,000 people suffer from the problem of high blood pressure alone in the United States. The risk of catching high blood pressure increases during the age bracket of 30-40 years. In 2006 it was observed that one in every seventeen people died due to this problem. The mortality figure has gone down by 35% which means there has been a lot of improvement but it still persists. High blood pressure is now even affecting African Americans who till date were never affected by it. Consistent or heavy smoking, no physical activity, obesity, binging on junk food and diabetes are some of the major reasons why people fall prey to high BP.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 15 million people suffer from blood pressure in which 5 million die a painful death and another 5 million get permanently disabled. On an average Europe faces more than 650,000 deaths annually. In developed countries high BP incidents are on a decline since there has been a considerable decrease in the number of smokers and this habit has reduced to quite an extent. Another factor which has helped in reducing the number of cases is lowering of the lower side in blood pressure. There are cases where diabetic patients also suffer from blood pressure which is quite a risky situation. It has been found that those who are diabetic are more vulnerable to getting high BP. There are various problems for which blood pressure is the only reason. Atherosclerosis, strokes, heart attack, heart failure and kidney failure are fatal results of having a problem with BP.

Atherosclerosis is a condition where the arteries get hardened. If high blood pressure does not cure with time it affects the walls of blood vessels. This leads to the damage of these walls permanently, even the inner linings of the arteries get ruptured which can turn out to be quite fatal. In ‘hypertension’ the heart works faster to pump the blood through the entire body. When the heart becomes enlarged it cannot pump the blood properly, this can lead to heart failure and should be treated as soon as possible. At times due to high BP foot problems develop among many individuals. Blockage of arteries can lead to gangrene and it results in amputation of the affected area. High blood pressure and diabetes, both lead to kidney damage and failure. The vicious cycle of high BP has killed many people and the awareness about it needs to be spread more than earlier in order to make people understand the graveness of the situation.