High blood pressure and other health problems

High blood pressure often goes hand in hand with other health problems, including:

• Heart failure
• Previous heart attack or stroke
• Coronary artery disease
• Enlarged or thickened left chamber of the heart (left ventricular hypertrophy)
• Diabetes
• Chronic kidney disease

High blood pressure itself puts you at higher risk of having one of these conditions. If you already have one or more of these conditions plus high blood pressure, your chance of developing complications increases. A targeted treatment approach might reduce your risk of these complications.

For example, if you have chest pain (angina), your doctor may recommend a beta blocker, which can lower your blood pressure and also prevent your chest pain, reduce your heart rate and decrease your risk of death. If you have diabetes and high blood pressure, taking a diuretic plus an ACE inhibitor can decrease your risk of a heart attack and stroke. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease, you may need an ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker.