Effects of High Blood Pressure on Your Body

Brain

Very high blood pressure can cause a break in the blood vessel, which then can bleed into the brain causing a stroke. A stroke can leave you without the ability to speak, or walk.

Eye Sight

High blood pressure can cause blood vessels in the eye to burst or bleed. Your eyesight may become blurred, making it difficult to see. Total or partial blindness can occur.

Heart

The heart can become too large, which may make it hard to pump blood to all parts of your body. This is known as heart failure. If your blood pressure remains high, arteries throughout the body can harden; this can lead to a heart attack.

Kidney

Over time, high blood pressure can narrow and thicken the blood vessels of the kidneys. The kidney filters and rids the body of waste. When the kidneys are damaged from high blood pressure the kidney may no longer work. When this happens, a medical treatment known as dialysis or a kidney transplant may be needed.

Arteries

As people get older, arteries throughout the body "harden," especially in the brain, heart and kidney. High blood pressure is associated with these hardened arteries. This causes the heart, brain and kidneys to work harder.