Blood pressure can be a very tricky thing to manage.  If it gets to high, you can start to have difficulties.  This can start with damage to your arteries and your heart.

Your arteries are flexible, strong and elastic like.

Due to a smooth lining, your blood is able to flow through supplying your organs with adequate oxygen.  If you have high blood pressure, this increases the amount of blood flowing through your arteries.  This can cause problems and damage to your arteries.

One such problem is arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis.  The high blood pressure will damage the cells of the lining of the artery.  This will eventually lead to arteriosclerosis or a hardening of the arteries.  The walls of the arteries actually become thick and stiff.

Another problem is atherosclerosis, when the fats from your diet enter your bloodstream, pass through the damaged cells as described above and collect.   With the combination of these conditions, you can block the blood flow to your heart, kidneys, brain, arms and legs.  This can lead to chest pain, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, peripheral arterial disease and aneurysms.

Another problem is a possible aneurysm.  This can be a dangerous condition.  It occurs when the pressure of your blood flow on a weakened artery causes a section to enlarge and form a bulge in the wall.  It is possible that this aneurysm can rupture and cause internal bleeding.  These can occur in any of your arteries.

High blood pressure can also cause damage to your heart, one of your most important organs.  Your heart has the important job of pumping blood to your entire body.

The most common and serious problem by high blood pressure is coronary artery disease.  This can affect the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle.  When the arteries are narrowed by this disease, your blood will not flow freely, which can cause chest pain.  The arteries can also become blocked.  When this occurs, you may have a heart attack.

People with high blood pressure who have a heart attack are more likely to die of that heart attack than are people who don’t have high blood pressure.

Another common heart condition is an enlarged left heart.  When the high blood pressure forces your heart to work harder than necessary, it causes the left ventricle to enlarge or stiffen.  This enlargement can limit the ventricle’s ability to pump blood to your body, increasing your risk of heart attack, heart failure and sudden cardiac death.

Finally, as stated above, finally you may have heart failure.  The strain placed on your heart by blood pressure will eventually weaken your heart muscle and cause it to work less efficiently.   It will soon wear out and fail.

It is very important to control your blood pressure.  There can be other serious health conditions too.