| You may know that high blood pressure can | | | | Atherosclerosis is another condition of the arteries |
| cause the heart to become enlarged through | | | | brought about by high blood pressure among |
| years of overwork. But did you know that the | | | | other diseases and conditions. The risk of |
| disease called hypertension – the technical | | | | developing this hardening and narrowing of the |
| name for high blood pressure – can also do | | | | arteries is increased with age. If you have a close |
| some serious damage to the arteries? | | | | relative with the condition you are also at greater |
| Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) | | | | risk. |
| One type of hypertension is called Pulmonary | | | | Basically, atherosclerosis starts because of a |
| Arterial Hypertension (PAH) because it is a | | | | buildup of plaque in the arteries by damage to the |
| condition where the pressure on the pulmonary | | | | artery’s lining. High blood pressure, diabetes |
| artery is too great. This becomes an area of | | | | and high cholesterol all contribute to damaging the |
| concern when pressure is above 25 mmHg. | | | | artery walls. When plaque builds up it can lead to |
| Normal pressure on the pulmonary artery is 14 | | | | blood clots that narrow the arteries even more. |
| mmHg. In PAH the inside of the arteries becomes | | | | With increased blood pressure on the arteries and |
| narrower because the muscles along the wall | | | | the clots, there is a greater chance of heart |
| tighten up. The arteries can also become thick | | | | attack or stroke. |
| from the increased muscle mass in the arteries | | | | Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) |
| due to their “workout.” When this | | | | Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is when the |
| happens the thicker walls create a narrower | | | | arteries leading to the heart become hardened |
| passage way for the blood flow and blood | | | | and narrower. There can be different types of |
| pressure increases. | | | | CAD, the most common being angina and heart |
| The pulmonary arteries can also form scar tissue. | | | | attack. Angina is a condition of chronic chest pain |
| This narrows the artery even more. Blood clots | | | | because the heart is not getting enough blood. A |
| can cause further blockage and make blood flow | | | | heart attack is the result also of the blood not |
| difficult. All of the factors that narrow the arteries | | | | making its way to a portion of the heart. |
| can also cause them to harden. | | | | Complete heart failure which can result in death |
| As time goes on without treating PAH, the right | | | | happens when the heart cannot pump enough |
| side of the heart is forced to work harder. | | | | blood through the body. |
| Eventually it becomes so weak that it completely | | | | To treat CAD, it is recommended that blood |
| fails. The number one cause of death for people | | | | pressure is kept in check. High blood pressure |
| with PAH is heart failure. PAH is either inherited or | | | | adds to the strain on the arteries and the heart. |
| comes about as the result of other conditions | | | | A healthy diet and lifestyle will reduce the chances |
| such as chronic lung disease, blood clots in the | | | | of developing CAD and other diseases or |
| lungs or heart disease which can be caused by | | | | conditions of the arteries. Learn how to reduce |
| other types of conditions such as hypertension or | | | | your blood pressure to a healthy level by reading |
| high cholesterol. | | | | this special report: ...visit |
| Atherosclerosis | | | | naturalblood-pressure.blogspot. |