Complications of Hypertension

People who have hypertension, which is not treated, are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks, heart failure, kidney damage and stroke compared to people with normal blood pressure.

This risk can be higher if a hypertensive patient has other medical conditions such as:

• Obesity People with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher are more likely to develop high blood pressure.
• High dietary sodium (salt) increases blood pressure in some people.
• Heavy and regular use of alcohol can increase blood pressure dramatically.
• Lack of physical activity People who are inactive have a 30-50% greater risk of developing high blood pressure.(1)
• Stress (although responses to stress vary from person to person)
• Race Blacks develop high blood pressure more often than whites, and it tends to occur earlier and be more severe.
• Heredity If your parents or other close blood relatives have high blood pressure, you're more likely to develop it.
• Age In general, the older you get, the greater your chance of developing high blood pressure. It occurs most often in people over age 35.
• Gender Men are more likely to develop high blood pressure between age 35 and 55.
• Women are more likely to develop it after menopause.