Key takeaways:
Untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, and even death.
You may have life-threatening complications if your blood pressure is higher than 180/120 mmHg.
Staying active, limiting your salt intake, and taking all medications as prescribed can help you lower your blood pressure.
High blood pressure is referred to as “the silent killer” because there often aren’t any symptoms — and, if left untreated, it can lead to death. Having high blood pressure can also increase your risk of other serious conditions like heart disease and stroke.
Let’s take a closer look at how high blood pressure, or hypertension, can lead to death. We’ll also cover the steps you can take to lower your risk, manage the condition, and live a healthy life.
Can you die from high blood pressure?
Yes, death from high blood pressure can occur both directly and indirectly. Most often, people die from the indirect complications of high blood pressure, such as heart attack and stroke.
But a hypertensive crisis can lead directly to death. That’s because your blood pressure is dangerously high. Urgent hypertensive crisis requires immediate medical care, but it doesn’t involve any organ damage. Once you begin to have organ damage, it becomes an emergent hypertensive crisis. And this can be life-threatening.
Signs you may have an emergent hypertensive crisis include symptoms like:
Vision changes
Severe headache
Confusion
Shortness of breath
There’s no way to predict how quickly you can go from a hypertensive urgency to death. The risk will vary from person to person. That’s why it’s important to go to the emergency room (ER) if you ever find that your blood pressure is greater than 180/120 mmHg.
What is blood pressure?
Your blood pressure is a measurement of the force required for your heart to pump blood through your blood vessels to the rest of your body. Blood vessels are naturally stretchy, so they can make room for the blood that gets pumped through them.
When a healthcare professional measures your blood pressure, they’ll tell you two numbers. Both of these numbers are important:
The top number is your systolic blood pressure. It tells you how much pressure is in your blood vessels when your heart contracts (pumps).
The bottom number is your diastolic blood pressure. It gives you an idea of how much pressure is in your blood vessels between your heart’s contractions (when your heart is resting).
A normal blood pressure is a systolic pressure of less than 120 over a diastolic pressure of less than 80. This is commonly written as 120/80 mmHg. But if your heart starts to work overtime (pumping too much blood) or if your blood vessels become too stiff, your blood pressure will rise.
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is when your blood pressure rises above a systolic pressure of 130 over a diastolic pressure of 80. There are stages to high blood pressure based on how high the readings are.
This table shows the American Heart Association’s guidelines for blood pressure.
Blood pressure category | Systolic pressure (mmHg) | Diastolic pressure (mmHg) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Normal | Less than 120 | and | Less than 80 |
Elevated | 120 to 129 | and | Less than 80 |
Stage 1 high blood pressure | 130 to 139 | or | 80 to 89 |
Stage 2 high blood pressure | 140 or higher | or | 90 or higher |
Hypertensive crisis (urgent or emergent) | Higher than 180 | and/or | Higher than 120 |
Stage 1 high blood pressure may respond to lifestyle changes and doesn’t always require medication to treat. This may include changes in your diet or activity level.
For stage 2 high blood pressure, a healthcare professional may prescribe medication for your blood pressure and lifestyle changes.
Hypertensive crisis is a medical emergency that should always prompt you to seek medical care right away.
What are the short-term effects of high blood pressure?
It’s common to have a temporary rise in your blood pressure from time to time. And it’s not typically harmful. For example, this can happen in moments of excitement or stress, or after drinking caffeine. And most of the time, we don’t even notice when our blood pressure goes up a bit.
Short bursts of high blood pressure are generally harmless, but they can add up. In fact, if many of these temporary bursts happen over time, it could lead to chronic high blood pressure or hypertension.
What are the long-term effects of high blood pressure?
If you have chronic high blood pressure, you’re at higher risk for serious complications. These include conditions like:
Blood clots
Blindness
Sexual dysfunction (like erectile dysfunction and low libido)
To avoid these problems, your healthcare team may suggest dietary changes and more exercise. In some cases, they may prescribe medications to help lower your blood pressure.
It’s common not to feel any effects of high blood pressure. This may lead some people to think that they don’t need to take any medications to lower it. But it’s very important to take your high blood pressure medications as prescribed to prevent these long-term effects.
Can you lower or prevent high blood pressure?
Yes, it’s possible to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of developing hypertension.
If you don’t have high blood pressure, there are a few ways to help maintain your normal range:
Get physical activity. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day for at least 5 days a week.
Maintain nutritious eating and drinking habits. Try to minimize sodium (salt) and caffeine intake. If you need help following a low-sodium, blood-pressure-friendly diet, try the DASH diet.
Maintain a moderate weight range. If you have a higher body weight that’s affecting your blood pressure, losing as little as 10 lbs can help to lower it.
Limit alcohol intake. Having more than 1 drink of alcohol per day for women or 2 drinks per day for men can raise your blood pressure.
Get your blood pressure checked at least once a year. Keep your regular clinic appointments, so you can keep track of your blood pressure.
If you already have high blood pressure, you can manage it by:
Following a low-sodium diet plan
Checking your blood pressure at home to keep track of it
Taking any medications you’ve been prescribed
Prioritizing sleep
Managing stress as well as possible
Quiz: Am I at risk for high blood pressure?
Frequently asked questions
The short answer is yes, you can die from high blood pressure in your sleep. The risk of death from a hypertensive crisis exists whether you’re awake or asleep. So it’s possible to have fatal effects from high blood pressure while you’re sleeping.
You can also have a change of consciousness during a hypertensive emergency — due to brain damage from dangerously high blood pressure. This can make you feel less alert and very sleepy. And if left untreated, it can lead to death.
Yes, you can live a long life with high blood pressure. But it’s less likely. Research suggests that people with high blood pressure don’t live as long as people with normal blood pressure. They are also more likely to live with cardiovascular disease.
There isn’t a specific threshold for everyone. But experts report that harm is cumulative, meaning it builds over time, and that earlier harm can be more dangerous. In other words, the earlier high blood pressure starts, the more damage it can cause. Even temporary high blood pressure that comes back down after treatment can cause irreversible damage. So it’s best to stay ahead of it as much as possible.
Chronic (ongoing) stress can raise your blood pressure in a few ways, such as by:
Activating the sympathetic nervous system
Increasing certain hormones that act on blood vessels
Promoting chronic inflammation
Also, ongoing stress can lead to unhealthy ways of coping, such as:
Smoking
Poor diet
Poor sleep
Lack of exercise
Too much alcohol
All of these things can raise your blood pressure.
The short answer is yes, you can die from high blood pressure in your sleep. The risk of death from a hypertensive crisis exists whether you’re awake or asleep. So it’s possible to have fatal effects from high blood pressure while you’re sleeping.
You can also have a change of consciousness during a hypertensive emergency — due to brain damage from dangerously high blood pressure. This can make you feel less alert and very sleepy. And if left untreated, it can lead to death.
Yes, you can live a long life with high blood pressure. But it’s less likely. Research suggests that people with high blood pressure don’t live as long as people with normal blood pressure. They are also more likely to live with cardiovascular disease.
There isn’t a specific threshold for everyone. But experts report that harm is cumulative, meaning it builds over time, and that earlier harm can be more dangerous. In other words, the earlier high blood pressure starts, the more damage it can cause. Even temporary high blood pressure that comes back down after treatment can cause irreversible damage. So it’s best to stay ahead of it as much as possible.
Chronic (ongoing) stress can raise your blood pressure in a few ways, such as by:
Activating the sympathetic nervous system
Increasing certain hormones that act on blood vessels
Promoting chronic inflammation
Also, ongoing stress can lead to unhealthy ways of coping, such as:
Smoking
Poor diet
Poor sleep
Lack of exercise
Too much alcohol
All of these things can raise your blood pressure.
The bottom line
It’s possible to die from untreated high blood pressure or its complications. Untreated high blood pressure also makes dying from heart disease and stroke more likely.
If you have high blood pressure or you're looking for ways to prevent it, you can take steps to lower your risk. Eating a low-sodium diet, exercising more, and taking your medications can help keep your blood pressure in the normal range.
Why trust our experts?
References
American Heart Association. (2024). Limiting or avoiding alcohol to manage high blood pressure.
American Heart Association. (2025). Health threats from high blood pressure.
American Heart Association. (2025). Understanding blood pressure readings.
Franco, O. H., et al. (2005). Blood pressure in adulthood and life expectancy with cardiovascular disease in men and women: Life course analysis. Hypertension.
Jones, D. W., et al. (2025). 2025 AHA / ACC / AANP / AAPA / ABC / ACCP / ACPM / AGS / AMA / ASPC / NMA / PCNA / SGIM guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. JACC.
Rong, Z., et al. (2025). A novel approach to the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases: Targeting brain-heart axis. European Journal of Medical Research.
