Normally, blood surges through vessels at a pace non damaging to the vascular system; high blood pressure is not normal as it rushes through at an increased pace. The pressure damages the cells of the interior lining of the blood vessels.They gradually lose their strength and consequently weaken and arteries become thickened and narrowed. This condition is commonly known as hardening of the arteries or in medical terminology, arteriosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is another vessel clogging condition. The blood, saturated with fatty material from diets too rich in fats, dumps the excess along the walls of the arteries. Arteries in all parts of the body are affected and the heart, kidneys, brain and extremities are subject to denied nutrients and oxygen necessary for health.
Aneurysms can form in an artery. These are bulges formed when vessels lose their elasticity causing thinned and weakened sections that sometimes rupture. No part of the body’s blood vessels is off limits to aneurysms but most often they form in the aorta, the largest and most forceful artery in the body. Also, arteries of the brain are subject to this kind of weakening and if the damage is in a larger artery, death is nearly always imminent.
Other diseased conditions directly or indirectly related to weakened and debilitated blood vessels are specifically related to certain sections of the body such as the coronary arteries of the heart. These coronary arteries are subject to the diseased conditions described above, and in addition to an enlarged heart and heart failure.
Hardened and inadequate arteries cause heart attacks because they can’t supply the heart muscles. The muscles and arteries need be kept in good working order because the rest of the body is dependent on the fresh supplies of oxygenated blood that is pumped by the heart.
Damaged arteries cause brain hemorrhages and strokes and small brain hemorrhages are relatively common in older adults with diseased arteries. TIA (transient ischemic attack) is commonly referred to as a mini-stroke. Some vessel abnormality has temporarily shut down a part of the brain and a momentary black out or inability to use a part of the body but blood is rapidly restored and no permanent damage results.
Full blown strokes with resultant damage and disability are the direct result of damaged blood vessels. When the rupture of the blood vessel is severe, death usually occurs, or permanent damage with inability to walk, talk or use part of the body often results. Symptoms of weakened and damaged blood vessels in the brain are physical and mental: Poor quality blood vessels in the brain may directly relate to impaired cognitive and reasoning skills.
Blood vessels that supply the kidneys may not be up to the task of supply the kidneys with nourishment and fresh oxygenated blood, resulting in kidney failure, aneurysms, or a particular disease known as glomerulosclerosis. The kidneys are rendered ineffective in carrying off the waste products when the tiny little blood vessels—glomeruli—are scarred
Hypertension potentially corrupts arteries in all parts of the body. Among the possibilities are the eyes, the sexual organs, the urinary tract, the intestines and the lungs.
