Why hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke and what to do about it – Business Insider India

Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure, or when blood vessels cannot relax enough and create higher resistance to blood pumping through the circulatory system. So, it plays an important role in heart health.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 70% of Americans who have chronic heart failure and 80% who have a stroke also have high blood pressure.

Over time, this can cause the vessels to grow stiff, which makes the heart work harder to continue pumping blood through them. Putting too much stress on your heart can lead to different types of heart disease:

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Despite the dangers of hypertension, the CDC estimates that 11 million US adults don't know they have it. You can't feel high blood pressure, which is why the American Heart Association calls it a "silent killer."

Certain demographics are also prone to hypertension, Fergus says, such as African-Americans and second-generation immigrants, and you should be aware if it runs in your family.

If you do have hypertension, treating it can have a strong effect on your health. For example, research has found that reducing systolic blood pressure (the top number in your blood pressure reading) by 10 points is associated with a 50% to 60% lower risk of stroke death and a 40% to 50% lower risk of death resulting from coronary artery disease.

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Why hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke and what to do about it - Business Insider India