Hypertensive heart disease

Definition:

A late complication of hypertension (high blood pressure) that affects the heart.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Elevated blood pressure increases the workload of the heart; over time, this results in the heart muscle enlarging. When the heart continues to pump against elevated pressure in the blood vessels, the left ventricle begins to dilate, cardiac output (the amount of blood pumped by the heart each minute) goes down, and congestive heart failure symptoms result.

Hypertension is one of the documented risk factors for ischemic heart disease (decreased blood to the heart muscle that results in anginal chest pain and heart attacks) by increasing the amount of oxygen needed by the bigger heart muscle. Hypertension is also associated with atherosclerosis, causing increased cholesterol deposits in the blood vessels of the heart.

Hypertensive heart disease is the leading cause of illness and death from hypertension. It affects approximately 7 out of 1,000 people.

Updated Date: 05/08/00

Updated by: Thomas O. Staiger, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine