17. High blood pressure
Blood pressure is a bit of an odd physiological value. It is not one that is widely understood by those who do not work in the medical field. People know about their heart. They know that it beats and on the whole, they can find their pulse if they need to. Barring this, they can feel their heartbeat if they are paying enough attention. But heart rate is only one part of the equation. There is the speed at which the heart pumps blood around the body, and then there is the actual pressure that is created when the heart pumps this blood.
It is almost counter-intuitive, but when the body is experiencing poor circulation, a person will have increased blood pressure. This is because the heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. If blood is pooling in one’s limbs and muscles then when the heart tries to beat as normal, it is trying to fit more blood into a space that already has blood.
On the surface, a slight increase in blood pressure may not seem that dangerous. This is only somewhat true. The body is designed to handle periods of high blood pressure. The heart and blood vessels will not be immediately affected if blood pressure increases. There are times when it is normal to have elevated blood pressure. The problem here would involve the timeframe.
High blood pressure in the short term will not necessarily cause long-term damage. But, if this high blood pressure persists for too long, then the body will start taking the strain. This damage will not only be limited to the heart and blood vessels, but even organs like the kidneys will begin to falter if blood pressure remains high for too long.