How does high blood pressure affect the brain?

Blood pressure is the force exerted by blood on the artery walls, including systolic and diastolic pressure. Normal blood pressure is systolic <130 mmHg and diastolic <85 mmHg. When blood pressure reaches ≥ 140/90 mmHg, it is called hypertension. High blood pressure sometimes has no symptoms or warning signs, can come on suddenly and cause many dangers to the patient.
Some causes of high blood pressure include:
Narrowed artery diameter Larger-than-normal blood volume Heart beating too fast and harder than normal Use of certain medications that raise blood pressure Unspecified reason; Common in people 40-50 years of age and older. Elder; fat ; a family history of high blood pressure; People with a tendency for blood pressure to be higher than normal: 135-139/85-89 mmHg will be those prone to hypertension.

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If untreated, high blood pressure will make the heart work hard, fatigue, pressure on the walls of large blood vessels, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and heart failure. heart failure, kidney failure, blindness...
Specifically, high blood pressure affects the brain of the patient. High blood pressure increases the risk of bleeding in the brain in patients 10 times more than people without high blood pressure. When blood pressure is only slightly above normal, a person is still at high risk of having a stroke.
In fact, up to 80% of heart attacks and strokes are caused by high blood pressure. High blood pressure causes small blood vessels in the brain to weaken and burst. If the blood flow to the brain is interrupted, it will lead to a lack of blood to the brain.
The body will appear symptoms such as dizziness, dizziness. If the condition is severe and prolonged, it will increase the risk of mild cognitive impairment, memory loss, cerebral blood vessel rupture, which can lead to paralysis, cerebral hemorrhage. The most serious risk of high blood pressure patients is death if not treated promptly.

Besides, many studies also show that young people with high blood pressure above the normal range are at risk of facing the risk of brain shrinkage. For people with high blood pressure, there will be changes in brain gray matter. Meanwhile, the gray matter of the brain is important to the brain, because it contains most of the neurons, which are essential for nerve function. When the affected gray matter changes, it causes an increased risk of stroke, memory loss earlier than normal compared to people with normal blood pressure.

Not only affects the brain, high blood pressure also affects other parts of the body, causing danger, affecting the health and quality of life of the patient. Specifically:
Affects the kidneys: high blood pressure can thicken the vessel walls, causing narrowing of the blood vessels, the body's waste products will therefore stagnate in the blood. If not treated, for a long time, it will affect the kidneys, most seriously, cause kidney failure. Effects on the eyes: High blood pressure is the cause of eye diseases such as retinopathy, blindness. Because when blood pressure is high, the blood vessels that feed the body are affected, including the blood vessels that feed the eyes. Without enough blood to the eyes, the eyes of hypertensive patients can dry, dim, have weak, limited vision, cause retinal diseases, and eventually lead to blindness if left untreated. Cramps (peripheral artery disease): untreated high blood pressure can affect the blood vessels in the extremities. It narrows and hardens the blood vessels of the limbs, leading to painful cramps or peripheral artery disease.

Causing bone loss: increased blood pressure causes abnormalities in calcium metabolism, increasing the body's excretion of calcium, especially in older women. This long-term condition leads to bone loss, fractures due to osteoporosis. Effects on pregnancy: Pregnant women with high blood pressure can reduce blood flow to the placenta, causing decreased levels of oxygen and nutrients supplied to the fetus. This means that the fetus is at risk of growth retardation and abnormal development. The most dangerous for pregnant women with high blood pressure is preeclampsia syndrome, which causes serious complications for mother and fetus. Research shows that high blood pressure during pregnancy can increase a woman's risk of stroke by up to 40%. Thus, to minimize the impact of hypertension on health, high blood pressure patients need to be properly treated according to the instructions and advice of the treating doctor. Maintaining a normal blood pressure reading helps minimize the risk of complications affecting health.
Patients should regularly measure their blood pressure at home to know their health status and have timely intervention, to avoid possible unfortunate consequences. Your best bet when you have risk factors for high blood pressure is to see a doctor. The basic hypertension examination package and the advanced hypertension examination package at Vinmec International General Hospital will help determine the exact causes, complications and levels of high blood pressure of the patient, thereby orienting suitable treatment.