Heart

• Heart
  
  The heart is forced to contract harder in order to force blood through narrowed arteries. This increased work enlarges the heart making it contract less effectively. If the heart contracts less effectively, it will speed up to compensate. All of this leads to congestive heart failure or heart attack. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), high blood pressure is the number one risk factor for congestive heart failure.
  
  

Arteries

• Arterial Blood
  
  The increased force of blood in the arteries can cause a weak area to balloon and rupture. This is called an aneurysm and is immediately life-threatening. High blood pressure also is related to the hardening of arteries, which causes organ damage.
  
  

Brain

• Brain
  
  Continuous high blood pressure in the brain can cause a blood vessel to rupture. This bleeding in the brain is known as a stroke and can kill or cause serious debilitation.
  
  

Kidneys

• Dialysis
  
  Prolonged Hypertension can cause kidney insufficiency or failure. Continuous high pressure on the arteries of the kidneys causes them to work less effectively in ridding the body of urine. Decreased urine output leads to increased circulating volume in the body, which increases blood pressure. It is a viscous cycle. According to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC), "High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney failure, also called end-stage renal disease (ESRD). People with kidney failure must either receive a kidney transplant or have regular blood-cleansing treatments called dialysis. Every year, high blood pressure causes more than 25,000 new cases of kidney failure in the United States."
  
  

Eyes

• Eye
  
  Ruptured vessels in the eye, secondary to hypertension, can cause decrease vision and eventually blindness.
  
  

Considerations

• Hospital
  
  The organ damage caused by uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to increased hospitalizations, increased health care costs, decreased physical and mental activity, and death.