There is also considerable disability caused by the treatment itself. It is the goal of this review to discuss these disabling complications of this disease. Renal Failure Cardiovascular Complications Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Despite major advances in the treatment of hypertension and heart disease, cardiac complications remain the leading cause of death in hypertensive patients. Hypertensive heart disease is mainly related to cardiac ischemia or infarction, as well as structural changes in the left ventricular myocardium leading to mechanical dysfunction.
Systemic hypertension is known to accelerate coronary atherosclerosis.
Furthermore, hypertensive patients demonstrate an abnormal coronary flow reserve and decreased endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. This, combined with the fact that hypertensive patients also show impaired early diastolic arterial flow, especially when left ventricular hypertrophy is presents make the hypertensive patient very susceptible to arterial insufficiency resulting in cardiac ischemia or infarction. This relationship between hypertension and coronary artery disease has important prognostic implications. Furthermore, hypertensive patients being treated for acute myocardial infarction with thrombolytictherapy have a higher morbidity and mortality from bleeding complications. Heart failure is commonly associated with hypertension.