The Pressure is On: Hypertension & Heart Disease

I am part of the drink-from-the-garden-hose generation—not a water bottle to be found within miles of my home. I was always so generous; I was happy to hold the hose for my sisters as they took their turn for a drink. I have no idea what would cause my thumb to slip over a portion of the hose tip, spraying my sisters directly in the face, and sometimes up their noses. Geez, I hate it when that happens. (hehe)

We are discussing stroke awareness for the entire month of May, and though my childhood deviousness seems to have nothing to do with the topic at hand, know that I have the ability to use bratty little sister behavior to exemplify a stroke risk factor.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is the number one risk factor for stroke and is often referred to as the “silent killer” because there are frequently NO symptoms until other organs are affected (like…the brain!!) Flash back to the garden hose—the water rolled out at a nice even pace…until I put my finger over the tip of it. That created some pressure behind my finger, causing the squirting and subsequent sibling dousing. Because the water had an exit from the hose, we would call that an open system.  Now, I want you to imagine this in a closed circulatory system, or a system that just keeps going around and around with no exit. Let’s say your cholesterol (fat) levels are higher than they should be, and there are fat deposits on the insides of your vessels. Let’s say that instead of my finger, the fat deposits reduce the size of the lumen, or the inside part where the blood travels, just like my finger reduced the size of the hole where the water needed to get out. What is going to build up? PRESSURE. In a CLOSED system. Vessels can actually burst in the brain and create MORE pressure, killing brain cells, thus creating a hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke. And those fat deposits? They can break off the walls of your vessels and travel and get stuck in the smaller vessels of your brain, blocking needed oxygen and causing an ischemic stroke (inadequate blood supply).

It is important to get down to the nitty gritty of your hypertension. For some, it is family history. For others, it’s obesity and sedentary lifestyle. Smokers and drinkers have a choice to make here as well if they want to reduce their risk. Have a high salt or high sugar diet? You, too, have lifestyle changes to make. Stress is a contributing factor, so self-care needs to become a priority.

As we continue discussing the WHY of stroke risk factors, I think it will surprise you at how closely related they are, and that once you start focusing on controlling one, it leads to others falling in line as well. Take the next risk factor as an example.

Any kind of heart disease puts you at risk for stroke. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), or disease in the vessels that feed your heart, is actually a complication of hypertension. The more pressure your vessels endure, the narrower and stiffer they become. If they are narrow and stiff, getting blood to your heart will be more difficult. Less blood to the heart means less pumping ability, which in turn means less blood to the brain. BAM. Stroke.  

So, you control your high blood pressure, and CAD can become a non- issue. Cool, huh? This isn’t the only 2-for-1 in the game of stroke risk factor control! More to come in future blogs…

A heart condition called atrial fibrillation (a-fib), which is an arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat) can also cause a stroke. The heart should beat at a normal, steady rhythm to keep the blood moving and flowing. When blood doesn’t move this way, it clots.  And yes, it will clot INSIDE your body. The chaotic rhythm of atrial fibrillation can cause clots in the heart and send those clots to the brain, causing an ischemic stroke. Once diagnosed, a-fib usually requires lifelong management with medications you might know as “blood thinners”. Risk factor control here looks like this: TAKE YOUR MEDS.

I have just skimmed the surface of hypertension and heart disease. Takeaways? High blood pressure is the main risk factor, yet both hypertension and heart disease are risk factors for stroke. In this case, if you control one, you can help the other (and there are more of those!) A-fib? Kinda random. It falls under the heart disease umbrella, isn’t related to hypertension, but it is still important to know the why. Self-care matters! Go squirt your sister. Examine your personal risk factors. Determine what you are willing to sacrifice to…

Be Well!

 

 

 

 

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