Nearly half of all adults (48%) in the United States — or about 120 million Americans — have been diagnosed with hypertension, or high blood pressure. Many millions more (about 1 in 5 adults) live with this “silent killer” and don’t know it.
You may know that high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, but did you know that it also drastically increases your chances of having a stroke?
May is High Blood Pressure Education Month and Stroke Awareness Month. For Dr. Laura Fernandes of Woodlands Heart and Vascular Institute, it’s an ideal time to shine a spotlight on the link between hypertension and stroke — and how you can protect your health from both.
A blood pressure (BP) reading measures the degree of force (low, normal, or high) that your blood exerts on your arteries.
The first number in a BP reading is the amount of force your arteries are under when your heart pumps (systolic pressure), and the second is the level of force on your vessels when your heart rests between beats (diastolic pressure).
BP measurements fall into four categories:
Your BP goes up and down during the course of a normal day, changing when you’re active, resting, stressed, calm, or digesting. Hypertension is diagnosed when BP stays elevated over time. High BP is a “silent” condition, meaning it exists without causing symptoms.
Hypertension is a top risk factor for stroke, which happens when part of the brain stops receiving oxygen because of a clogged artery or burst blood vessel. Without oxygen, brain cells begin to die within minutes. High BP can lead to a stroke in several ways:
High BP levels place increased, round-the-clock strain on your arteries that can damage their walls and set the stage for atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup.
When plaque blocks an artery that supplies blood to your brain, it can cause an ischemic stroke. About 87% of stroke events are ischemic. When plaque narrows an artery, it can trigger a mini stroke event called a transient ischemic attack (TIA).
Hypertension also strains smaller blood vessels. When a vessel in your brain bursts, it causes a hemorrhagic stroke. Brain bleeds account for just over 10% of strokes.
Over time, high BP can damage the tiny blood vessels deep inside your brain, causing small vessel disease (SVD) — a condition that further magnifies your stroke risk.
High BP is a leading cause of atrial fibrillation (AFib), an arrhythmia that causes episodes of rapid heartbeats. A chaotic, rapid heart rhythm can cause blood to pool in the heart, which can lead to the formation of clots that can trigger an ischemic stroke or heart attack.
Every year, nearly 800,000 Americans have a stroke, and hypertension plays a major role in more than half of all cases. Simply put, stroke prevention begins with BP control. The first step? Having regular screenings. The second? Knowing your personal risk factors.
Certain unmodifiable factors increase your risk of hypertension:
Your gender can also elevate your hypertension risk. Men are more likely than women to have high BP in middle age, but among older adults, women carry the highest risk. Women who have gestational hypertension during pregnancy are more likely to develop high BP later in life.
Most major risk factors for hypertension are manageable or modifiable, including:
Certain chronic conditions — including diabetes, sleep apnea, and kidney disease — can also make hypertension more likely, especially when they aren’t well controlled.
Hypertension is a leading cause of stroke, and stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. Luckily, hypertension is easy to detect and highly treatable — and both are largely preventable.
Having routine BP screenings and addressing modifiable risk factors (e.g., getting more exercise, eating a healthier diet, losing weight, reducing stress levels, quitting smoking) can go a long way toward mitigating your stroke risk — and protecting your long-term health.
Do you know your BP numbers? Now is the time to find out. Schedule a visit at Woodlands Heart and Vascular Institute in The Woodlands, Texas, today.
