How does high blood pressure affect your heart?

High blood pressure can damage your arteries by making them less elastic, which decreases the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart and leads to heart disease.

Your heart beats about 100 000 times a day, pumping around 7 500 litres of blood through your body every 24 hours. Equipped with its own electrical system, its pacemaker cells generate impulses that cause it to contract and relax regularly, automatically adjusting speed depending on your body’s needs. Your heart keeps working even when you’re asleep, keeping your blood pressure and oxygen levels in balance.

As the powerhouse of your body, your heart needs to be kept in excellent shape to perform as it’s meant to. High blood pressure can quietly damage your heart, sometimes over the course of months or years, and eventually cause it to fail.

“High blood pressure adds to your heart’s workload,” says Dr Francois Erasmus, a physician at Mediclinic Kloof. “Over time, to cope with the increased demands, the heart thickens and becomes larger. As a result, it becomes less efficient at pumping blood. The larger your heart becomes, the harder it must work to meet your body’s demands for oxygen and nutrients.”

What is high blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the measurement of the pressure of blood pushing against the blood-vessel walls. The force is generated with each heartbeat, as blood is pumped from your heart into the blood vessels, carrying oxygenated blood to your tissues and organs.

Blood pressure is represented by two numbers: the “top number”, which is systolic pressure, shows the force as blood pumps out of your heart and into the arteries; and the “bottom number”, the diastolic pressure, is created as your heart rests between beats. Generally, ideal blood pressure in a young, healthy adult will be between 90/60 and 120/80.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa, at least one in three South African adults live with high blood pressure. This condition is responsible for one in every two strokes and two in every five heart attacks.

How does high blood pressure affect the heart?

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is when the force of blood pushing against your artery walls is consistently too high (140/90 or higher). “It is often related to unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, being overweight, and not exercising enough,” says Dr Erasmus. “The possibility of developing hypertension increases as you age.”

This thickening and/or stiffening of the heart’s walls, as well as the narrowing and constriction of blood vessels caused by high blood pressure, are among the most common causes of heart failure.

How can you protect your heart from the effects of high blood pressure?

Because high blood pressure generally shows no symptoms, you may not be aware anything is wrong while the damage is occurring. The World Health Organization estimates 46% of adults with hypertension don’t know they have it.

Go for regular health check-ups. If you have high blood pressure readings at two or more appointments, your doctor will ask about your medical history and lifestyle to identify possible causes. They will then recommend lifestyle changes and/or medications to lower your numbers. “Among these may be following a healthy eating plan and keeping active in order to maintain a weight that is right for you, quitting smoking, limiting salt (sodium) intake, and drinking alcohol in moderation,” says Dr Erasmus. “Managing your stress is also vital.”

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