Why High Blood Pressure Increases the Risk of a Heart Attack in Younger

10/13/2023

High blood pressure doubles one’s risk of developing heart disease

Researchers from Sweden used a nationwide database of men who joined the military between 1969 and 1997 for the observational study. Later, this study was published on September 25 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

 For all adult male citizens at the time, enlistment was mandatory. Some males were disqualified from the study due to a number of factors, such as ongoing diseases and incapacity.

They possessed information on almost 93% of the nation's male 18-year-olds at the time, including a single reading of blood pressure taken at enrolment.

The enlistment data were linked to hospital inpatient records and mortality records using a special personal identification number that was assigned to each Swedish citizen. Over 99% of the study's male participants had inpatient records available.

With the help of inpatient and death data, researchers could find out the men who went through serious cardiovascular events, such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, bleeding in the brain, etc.

After jotting down participants' blood pressure, researchers observed the participants for almost 18 to 30 years to find accurate results.

The findings of the study demonstrate that people with normal blood pressure during enlistment had a 14.7% chance of encountering severe cardiovascular events later in life. On the contrary, people with stage 2 high blood pressure at the time of enlistment had an increased possibility of 24.3% of meeting serious cardiovascular problems.

According to Nathan D. Wong, a professor and the program's director at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine in Irvine, Calif., "People with high blood pressure had two times greater chances of meeting cardiovascular problems.

Symptoms of High Blood Pressure-  

You may not feel any symptoms until the blood pressure is too high. High blood pressure may cause symptoms like blurred vision, chest pain, headache, etc. The long-term persistence of high blood pressure can result in serious medical conditions such as kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, etc.

• anxiety

• confusion

• buzzing in the ears

• severe headaches

• chest pain

• abnormal heart rhythm

• nosebleeds

• difficulty breathing

• nausea

• vomiting

• dizziness

• blurred vision or other vision changes

How to Maintain a Healthy Blood Pressure at Home? 

Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, affects thousands of individuals of different age groups every year. As per the statistics by WHO, 1.28 billion people across the world are living with one of the most prevalent health conditions, i.e., hypertension. Two-thirds of the total high blood pressure patients are from middle-income countries. Not getting it treated can lead to life-endangering events in life. Therefore, maintaining normal blood pressure is the key to living a healthy and disease-free life. There are several techniques that can be opted to treat hypertension at home only.

Note: Kindly do not stop taking any medication without the approval of the doctor. Suddenly, stopping the usage of any medication can rebound the symptoms. Therefore, refer to your doctor before altering ongoing treatments.

Eating a balanced diet:

Consuming a balanced diet enriched in nutrition will improve your overall health significantly. People with hypertension should focus on a diet rich in fruits, whole grains, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, nuts & legumes, etc. On the other hand, certain things must be avoided by people with high blood pressure, such as fatty meals, sodium, alcoholic beverages, and trans & saturated fats. Sticking to a balanced diet will definitely bring down your blood pressure. 

Limiting alcohol consumption:

Cutting off alcohol intake does not only improve your blood pressure and results in a healthy lifestyle. Drinking too much alcohol takes up your blood pressure, affecting your heart health.

Managing stress:

The link between stress and hypertension is still being studied. In contrast, some studies claim long-term emotional distress can contribute to hypertension. If you are someone who is always stressed out, you need to break this habit. In order to maintain stress, schedule your day, learn to say no, don’t overburden yourself, take the time to relax, go for a walk, do what you love, etc.

Get your required fuel:

As you already know, getting the required sleep is essential to perform the next day's duties. Sleep works as fuel to the human body, making it capable of doing tasks efficiently with high attention and focus. If you take less than 6 hours of sleep for a few consecutive months, you might have to go through hypertension.

Exercise and workout regularly:

Exercising and working out not only helps in managing hypertension in kids, adults, and older adults but also leads to fruitful outcomes for overall health. In the era of a sedentary lifestyle, keeping your health in check is very important. Practicing physical activity on a daily basis reduces BP by 5 to 8 mm hg.

FAQs:

1. Does high blood pressure increase the risk of a heart attack? 

High blood pressure is one of the risk factors for heart problems such as heart attack, stroke, and other diseases. Having high blood pressure at times is completely fine. The persistence of high blood pressure in the long term is a red flag for the heart and overall health. Hence, if you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, follow the necessary precautions as suggested by your doctor. 

2. How can I lower my blood pressure at 18? 

There are various effective tips that you can follow, irrespective of age and gender, in order to manage high blood pressure. Adhering to these easy tips for high blood pressure will result in fruitful results. 

• Make physical workouts a daily habit. 

• Cut off excess weight. 

• Limit the intake of processed food. 

• Decrease your salt consumption. 

• Sticking to a balanced diet. 

• Break your smoking habit. 

• Get enough sleep. 

• Reduce alcoholic drink consumption. 

3. How long can you have high blood pressure before it causes damage?

High blood pressure is one of the most common health conditions around the globe. The number of high blood pressure patients has risen drastically over the last decade. The persistence of high blood pressure for 1 to 2 years can cause serious damage to your heart and brain. High blood pressure often affects the arteries, resulting in blocked arteries. On the other hand, it can cause impaired memory and thinking.  

4. Why is my blood pressure high at 18?

There could be various possible reasons for having high blood pressure at the age of 18. Reasons like a sedentary lifestyle, underlying medical condition, excess weight, stress, lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, etc., can also contribute to high blood pressure at 18. In order to manage high blood pressure, you can opt for lifestyle changes, which may include: 

• A lot of physical activity 

• Eating a diet full of vegetables and fruits 

• Cutting off bad habits like alcohol consumption and smoking 

• Meditation to address stress

Sources: - 

1. WorldHealthOrganization- Hypertension  

2. MedicalNewsToday- What to know about high blood pressure