A 35-year-old member asked:
Can my high blood pressure lead to a heart attack?
2 doctor answers • 20 doctors weighed in
Dr. Christopher Dowdanswered
Internal Medicine 20 years experience
Yes: High blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for heart attacks. If you have it, take steps to keep it under control with health diet, regular exercise, weight loss if needed, limited alcohol consumption, avoidance of tobacco and medications if needed. You should also find out what other risk factors for heart attack or stroke you have and address them as well.
6.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Mark Sternanswered
Cardiology 46 years experience
Yes: Yes eventually it will contribute to an increased risk.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Megan Bird commented
Obstetrics and Gynecology 19 years experience
High blood pressure makes our blood vessels rigid and less able to respond if the heart (or anything else like the brain) need extra blood flow. This, over time, can cause a heart attack or stroke.
Jan 6, 2012
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Similar questions
A 30-year-old member asked:
Do i need to have high blood pressure to have a heart attack?
2 doctor answers • 8 doctors weighed in
Dr. Creighton Wrightanswered
General Surgery 56 years experience
No: Independent variables that can happen together but not always.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
San Francisco, CA
A 38-year-old male asked:
Why does high blood pressure cause a heart attack?
3 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Shadi Abu Halimahanswered
Vascular Surgery 21 years experience
Atherosclerosis: Hypertension is a major cause of atherosclerosis which may cause heart attacks.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
CA
A 40-year-old member asked:
How high does blood pressure get before a heart attack?
3 doctor answers • 8 doctors weighed in
Dr. Philip Rosenblumanswered
Family Medicine 28 years experience
It doesn't: Although high blood pressure is a risk factor for coronary heart disease, there is no evidence that there is an acute rise in blood pressure prior to a heart attack.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
How high can blood pressure get before a heart attack occurs?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Vasudev Ananthramanswered
Cardiology 32 years experience
BP varies...: Varies. It can be very high due to pain and a feeling of dread. It can be low if the heart is weak due to a large heart attack.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
How high can blood pressure rise before someone has a heart attack or dies?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Creighton Wrightanswered
General Surgery 56 years experience
Different: Severe acute hypertension can cause tear of aorta and sudden death or need for emergency surgery.
Can happen anytime with elevated bp
but scary at 180 systolic and 120 diastolic.
Can also cause left ventricular strain and hypertrophy and heart failure but usually not a heart attack acutely.
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
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Last updated Mar 10, 2019
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