High blood pressure complications

High blood pressure sometimes produces headaches, spots before the eyes, dizzy spells, or nose bleeds, but these symptoms are not major concerns. However, high blood pressure that persists over a period of years accelerates arteriosclerosis, which can be serious because it is a major predisposition to stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, poor circulation in the legs, and heart failure. In response to a long period of high pressure, the heart gradually increases in size as it attempts to do heavier-than-normal work. Eventually the workload becomes too great, pressure cannot be maintained, the heart fails, the lungs become congested, and breathing becomes difficult. Thus, the complications of high blood pressure are much more serious problems than the pressure itself.