What can happen if high blood pressure is not controlled?

High blood pressure usually occurs without any symptoms. Without periodic blood pressure testing hypertension may be present for many years without you noticing.

However during this time the high pressure can slowly cause damage that ultimately leads to serious complications. Indeed for some people the first sign of a problem is an event, such as a heart attack.

Continued high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, kidney failure, brain or neurological damage, and changes in the retina at the back of the eyes.

High blood pressure causes the heart to work harder at pumping blood and this increased workload can put a strain on the heart, which can lead to heart abnormalities that are usually first seen as an enlarged heart muscle. Heart enlargement may precede heart failure, coronary artery (the blood vessels which supply the heart with blood) disease, and cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rate or rhythms).

Hypertension can cause strokes, which can lead to brain or neurological damage. Strokes are usually due to a haemorrhage (blood leak) or a thrombosis (blood clot) of the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. A stroke can cause damage to the brain resulting in a range of consequences from weakness, or paralysis of the arms or legs to severe mental difficulties.