Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi,
My partner and I are doing a project on if age and gender has an effect on blood pressure. While my partner and I were doing research, we found that high blood pressure usually does the most damage to the heart and arteries. Other than these, because the heart is being damaged, would this cause a chain reaction and take a toll on other organs of the body as well? If so, how would this affect the overall individual? Thank you!

Olivia

Hi Olivia,

You and your partner are doing a very interesting and relevant project! The short answer to your question is yes, high blood pressure causes a chain reaction that takes a toll on other organs as well. If you do a little more research, you can find out some of the details. Here are some sites to get you started:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-b ... re/HI00062
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/hbp/effect/effect.htm
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guid ... se-prevent
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/high- ... 00062.html

I hope this helps. Please post again (in this same thread) if you have more questions.

Heather