Medical Questions » Blood Pressure Questions » Question No. 143
| Question: | Why do doctors keep worrying about my blood pressure. Is it really that important to keep it low? |
| Answer: | Any plumber will tell you that if a pipe carries water at a pressure higher than the pressure it was designed for, it will eventually rupture. If the pressure in the pipe is not only too high but varies rapidly in its level, the rupture will occur even sooner because of the excessive stresses on the pipe.
Exactly the same situation occurs in the human body when the pressure of blood in the arteries becomes too high. The arteries of a person with high blood pressure will become hardened, brittle and eventually rupture, causing a stroke, heart attack or other serious injury to vital organs.
The majority of people with high blood pressure have no symptoms of the problem for many years, and by that time it may be too late. Once diagnosed, tests will be done to see if there is any specific cause for the increased blood pressure, but the majority of people have ' essential' hypertension, for which there is no single identifiable cause. Treatment is necessary in all cases of hypertension to prevent the serious long-term problems that may occur.
There is no cure for high blood pressure, but it can be very successfully controlled in the majority of patients by taking one or two tablets a day. |
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