- [Voiceover] So, once you have hypertension
or high blood pressure, there are a lot of potential
complications that can start to crop up as a result,
many of which you might not necessarily think of
or associate with hypertension, but they can
and definitely do happen.
And we can sort of split these complications up
into three categories, the first of which
is those that involve the head and the brain.
Specifically, a major complication
is hypertensive retinopathy.
What is that?
Well, the first part of retinopathy means retina, and then
"pathy" is disease, so this is a disease of the retina.
And your retina is this critical component of your eyes.
You wouldn't be able to see the world as you do
without it.
It's the innermost layer of your eye, and it takes in light
and then helps transmit that light as an image
to your brain.
It's sort of like if your eye was a camera
and then your retina would be the film.
And depending on which part of the retina the light hits,
it'll send that information to your brain through these
nerve fibers for development into an image.
Now, this piece of film, like anywhere in the body,
needs oxygen, right?
And where does it get that oxygen from?
Well, your blood vessels.
But if those blood vessels are damaged
due to hypertension, you can start having vision problems.
And eye doctors or ophthalmologists can take pictures
of your eyes and actually see the damage
to the tiny arteries in your eyes due to hypertension.
This is a pretty typical image of your retina.
And if hypertensive retinopathy is present,
you'll often be able to see this leakage of blood
in these pictures due to weakened blood vessels.
Now, the other major complication that can come about
from hypertension that might be a little more familiar
is stroke.
And since your brain is an organ, arguably one of the most
important organs you have, it obviously needs a very solid
and dependable supply of blood at all times, right?
Well, if the arteries that supply a certain part
of your brain with oxygen get clogged,
or if they burst even from being too weak,
your brain might not receive enough blood.
And within minutes, those oxygen-starved brain cells
can start to die off, and whatever function that part
of the brain has might be lost.
All right.
So, the next major category is complications to the heart.
Specifically, hypertension can be a major, major contributor
to heart failure, where the heart doesn't pump as well
as it once did.
And what can happen with heart failure is that you get
left ventricular hypertrophy, which is muscle growth
of your left ventricle.
Since there's more resistance in your blood vessels,
your heart now has to work harder to pump blood, right,
especially the left ventricle, since it sends blood
to your body and your organs.
Similarly to how your biceps bulk up from lifting weights,
your left ventricle gets bigger from pumping harder.
Unfortunately, though, hypertrophy of the left ventricle
isn't a healthy adaptation to an increased workload.
And this change in shape of the left ventricle
actually causes a decrease in pumping ability,
and that's when the heart begins to fail.
Now, another major effect to the heart
is coronary artery disease.
In the same way that other organs need blood
to survive, your heart needs its own supply of blood
to survive, too.
So, the coronary arteries supply the myocardium
or the heart muscle with blood.
And these can become narrowed or weakened
from hypertension and form these clots
that sort of block off the blood supply
to the heart's muscles.
And without a blood supply, those cells can start
to die off, which can cause what's known
as a heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction.
Now, the final category is peripheral artery disease,
which we sometimes abbreviate PAD,
and this is an atherosclerosis or a buildup of plaque
in the body outside the vessels of the heart,
the head, and the brain,
kind of a catchall category for things not in the last two,
which is why we call them peripheral arteries.
Now, some of the most commonly affected areas
are the blood vessels that carry oxygen to your legs,
your arms, your stomach, or your kidneys.
Decreased oxygen supply due to weakened or blocked
arteries from hypertension to really any part
of the peripheral organs or tissues can cause things
like ulcers, gangrene, and loss of tissue
in the affected area.
The kidney specifically, though, deserves special attention
because they tend to be a very common organ that can
be damaged by hypertension.
If plaque builds up or the arteries weaken,
and you get a reduced blood flow to the kidneys,
then they can become damaged and their functIon
can be reduced, just like any other organ.
But what's their function?
Well, the kidneys help you regulate fluid volume
in your body, right,
like at any time they decide if you need more or less blood.
So, if their arteries get blocked, they'll see this reduced
blood flow and be like, "Hey, we must be dehydrated
"or something because there's way less fluid."
And then, they'll release some hormones that cause
the body to hold on to more fluid, which has the effect
of increasing your flow, and therefore increasing
your blood pressure.
Also, with less oxygen reaching the kidney cells,
just like any other organs and tissues, they can be
injured and even start to die off, which makes it even
harder for them to do their job of balancing fluids.