Hypertensive Heart Disease describes a group of heart conditions that are caused by uncontrolled high blood pressure. 1 in 3 Americans has high blood pressure, and half of those people don’t know they have high blood pressure (also known as hypertension).
Men with high blood pressure are 2x’s more likely to have heart failure, and women with high blood pressure are 3x’s more likely to have heart failure. When you have high blood pressure your heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout your body. All that extra work damages your heart and makes it weak.
High blood pressure can also make the walls of your blood vessels get thicker. This makes it harder for blood to flow through the vessels. That makes your heart work harder and can mean your blood isn’t moving through your veins as well as it should.
A big problem with high blood pressure and heart disease is that you don’t have symptoms until your heart is already damaged. Some of those symptoms are also dangerous, like strokes, heart attacks, and sometimes death. That is why it is so important to work with your provider to monitor your heart health.
Learn more about The Dangers of High Blood Pressure
Your provider will talk about your family history and your lifestyle. This info helps them find your risk factors. Things that can give you a higher risk of hypertensive heart disease are not exercising, diabetes or high cholesterol, being overweight, and eating a lot of salty foods.
Finding out if you have hypertensive heart disease is a simple process. One of the first steps is to run blood tests. Another test you may have done is an electrocardiogram, or EKG. EKGs are simple and painless. They measure your heartbeat and how strong your heart is. You may also have an echocardiogram. This test is like an EKG with an ultrasound. It measures your heartbeat and takes an ultrasound of your heart so your provider can see how blood flows through your heart. An echocardiogram is also simple and painless. None of these tests involve surgery, and you can have them done right in your provider’s office.
If you are diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease you don’t need to panic. You have a lot of treatment options, especially if you find out early. A big part of treating hypertensive heart disease is simple lifestyle changes. Being more active, eating healthier foods, and losing weight can all give your heart health a huge boost!
Your provider can also use a variety of medicines to help your heart too. These meds help reopen your blood vessels and make your heart’s job easier. With that stress off your heart, it can get stronger.
The best news of all is that you can prevent hypertensive heart disease! This condition develops over many years and having high blood pressure does not mean you will get hypertensive heart disease. The opposite is actually true!
Seeing your provider regularly and making healthy choices can protect you from hypertensive heart disease. If you develop high blood pressure your provider can help you easily manage it. You are in complete control of your heart health.
Hypertensive heart disease develops over many years. Undiagnosed or uncontrolled high blood pressure makes your heart work a lot harder which damages your heart. With regular visits to your provider, you can completely avoid hypertensive heart disease. If you do develop hypertensive heart disease, you and your provider can treat it together and get your heart back in shape!
Don’t stress about hypertensive heart disease. Schedule an appointment with your EPIC provider now and get a prescription for peace of mind!
Make an Appointment