13+ Symptoms (Like High Blood Pressure Headaches) You Shouldn’t Ignore

Roughly 48% of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Of these 120 million adults, it’s estimated nearly 40% are not aware of their condition because high blood pressure often has no symptoms. For this reason, hypertension has been dubbed “the silent killer.”

Routine blood pressure checks are essential for preventing hypertension. However, knowing the warning signs of high or elevated blood pressure can help you and your doctor catch and treat hypertension before it leads to complications or long-term health problems.

Can You Actually Feel High Blood Pressure?

People do not usually feel high blood pressure because mild to moderate hypertension rarely presents with physical symptoms. By the time patients notice symptoms of high blood pressure, the condition may have progressed to a severe or life-threatening level. Considered a medical emergency, the term “hypertensive crisis” refers to blood pressure readings with a systolic blood pressure higher than 180 and a diastolic blood pressure higher than 120.

Every adult is encouraged to watch for warning signs of high blood pressure, even when they cannot feel the condition. 

Vision and Hearing Symptoms

High blood pressure usually does not cause noticeable vision symptoms, especially in its early stages. However, consistent and severe high blood pressure can damage delicate blood vessels in the eyes and ears, potentially leading to vision and hearing problems down the road. If you are at greater risk of developing hypertension, consider these common signs of long-standing hypertension related to vision and hearing.

Blurry Vision and Visual Disturbances

Blurred or hazy vision can be a noticeable sign of long-standing severe high blood pressure. Damaged blood vessels in the eyes can lead to blurred vision, dark spots, or areas of missing vision. In rare cases, severe hypertension can cause double vision or contribute to retinal blood vessel blockages that may result in partial or permanent vision loss. 

Dizziness

While dizziness in general is not a symptom of high blood pressure, dizziness and lightheadedness are sometimes reported by people with hypertension. If you experience dizziness specifically when standing up from a seated or reclined position, it could also be due to a temporary drop in blood pressure or a side effect of some medications. 

If you experience sudden dizziness accompanied by neurological symptoms, such as weakness, difficulty speaking, or vision changes, this may be a sign of a stroke. Seek immediate medical attention if this happens.

Subconjunctival Hemorrhage

A subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs when blood vessels burst under the conjunctiva, or the eye’s clear surface. This causes a bright red patch to appear in the white area of the eye. While subconjunctival hemorrhages are usually harmless. High blood pressure may contribute to their development in some people, particularly when it is poorly controlled, although many cases occur for other reasons and are not caused by hypertension alone. 

Ringing in the Ears

The veins near the inner ear are delicate, and high blood pressure can add strain. Some studies have found that people with high blood pressure are more likely to experience tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing, or humming sound in the ears. In some cases, the sound may pulse in time with the heartbeat, also known as pulsatile tinnitus. Keep in mind that pulsatile tinnitus often has causes other than high blood pressure, so consult with your doctor to be sure. 

Aches and Pains

High blood pressure does not typically cause pain, but hypertension and pain often coexist and can affect one another. For example, chronic pain can trigger spikes in stress hormone levels that temporarily elevate blood pressure, and living with persistent pain may make it more difficult to manage hypertension over time. If you have a family history of high blood pressure, consider these aches and pains commonly linked to hypertension. 

Headaches

Most people with high blood pressure do not experience headaches related to hypertension, but severely elevated or a rapid rise in blood pressure can sometimes cause a headache. When a headache occurs alongside dangerously high blood pressure, it may be a sign of a hypertensive crisis, which requires immediate medical attention.

Back Pain

Chronic back pain can trigger the release of stress hormones like cortisol, constrict blood vessels, and increase heart rate, leading to elevated blood pressure. Sudden and severe back pain in someone with very high blood pressure may signal a serious medical emergency, such as an aortic dissection, and requires immediate medical attention. 

Chest Tightness

High blood pressure can strain the cardiovascular system over time, narrowing and damaging the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Angina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs when the heart muscle does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood. Chest pain or tightness in people with hypertension may be related to underlying heart disease. When tightness occurs alongside severely elevated blood pressure, it may indicate a hypertensive emergency requiring immediate medical attention.

Mental and Overall Wellness Symptoms

While high blood pressure does not usually present with physical symptoms, it is closely linked to mental and cognitive health. Chronic hypertension has been associated with changes in cognitive function, and conditions such as chronic stress and anxiety can contribute to elevated blood pressure and make hypertension more difficult to manage. If you are at greater risk of developing hypertension, consider these common mental health and overall wellness symptoms of high blood pressure.

Fatigue

While fatigue alone is not a direct sign of high blood pressure, long-standing uncontrolled hypertension can contribute to conditions that may cause fatigue. For example, untreated hypertension can lead to heart disease, reduced physical endurance, or chronic kidney disease. Some blood pressure medications may also cause tiredness or low energy levels in certain people. 

Panic Attacks and Anxiety

Panic attacks and other symptoms of anxiety trigger the release of stress hormones that cause blood vessels to become narrower and heart rate to increase, leading to higher blood pressure. Likewise, people with anxiety may panic or intensely worry about their hypertension. This can lead to a vicious cycle of elevated blood pressure readings and health-related stress.

Nausea

Nausea coupled with symptoms like vomiting and headaches may signal a hypertensive crisis. When someone with hypertension experiences sudden feelings of nausea, this may indicate their blood pressure levels are dangerously high. However, certain antihypertensive medications can also cause nausea-related side effects. People with hypertension are advised to contact their provider if they notice persistent nausea alongside their high blood pressure. 

Weight Gain

High blood pressure does not necessarily cause weight gain, but weight gain is a major risk factor for developing hypertension. As body weight increases, the cardiovascular system must support a higher overall metabolic demand, which contributes to increased blood pressure over time through changes in blood vessel function, hormonal regulation, and kidney sodium handling. Even modest weight loss can help lower blood pressure, with sustained reductions in body weight associated with clinically meaningful improvements in systolic blood pressure. 

More Surprising Symptoms of High Blood Pressure

Some symptoms of high blood pressure may seem less obvious than others, but they make sense when you understand how changes to blood circulation affect various bodily functions. Some of the more surprising symptoms of hypertension include the following.

Erectile Dysfunction

High blood pressure can directly cause erectile dysfunction (ED). When blood flow to the penis is restricted, blood vessels are unable to dilate and fill with blood, limiting the ability to achieve an erection. Hypertension can also damage the inner lining of blood vessels and reduce the production of nitric oxide, a chemical needed to relax blood vessels for an erection. Additionally, some beta-blocker and diuretic medications used to treat high blood pressure list erectile dysfunction as a potential side effect.

Arteries in the penis are relatively small compared to those supplying blood to the heart, so ED is often a warning sign of more serious conditions like cardiovascular disease. 

Heart Palpitations

Over time, high blood pressure can thicken muscles around the heart, making the heart less flexible and forcing it to work harder. Hypertension can also interfere with the electrical signals that regulate your heart rate. This can lead to a racing, pounding, or fluttering heartbeat, which stress and anxiety may compound by triggering the release of adrenaline. 

Sweating and Hot Flashes

Hot flashes and high blood pressure are often connected, especially for menopausal and perimenopausal women. As women age, estrogen production declines, and this can make blood vessels less flexible. Surges in the sympathetic nervous system during hot flashes can also trigger a spike in both the heart rate and blood pressure levels. 

Sweating can occur for many reasons, including normal thermoregulation and hormonal changes. However, episodes of profuse sweating occurring alongside high blood pressure and symptoms such as headache, palpitations, or chest discomfort may indicate a more serious underlying condition, such as a catecholamine-secreting disorder or an acute cardiovascular event, and should be evaluated promptly. 

Nocturia

Nocturia, the medical name for frequent urination at night, can often be traced to high blood pressure. In some people, hypertension can contribute to changes in kidney function and sodium handling, leading to increased urine production at night due to altered fluid and salt balance. 

This relationship is also influenced by blood pressure patterns during sleep, with higher nighttime blood pressure and “non-dipping” blood pressure patterns associated with more frequent nocturia. In addition, diuretics (“water pills”) used to treat high blood pressure can increase urination, especially if taken later in the day, and are sometimes timed earlier in the day to reduce nighttime symptoms. 

Common Myths of High Blood Pressure

There are common misconceptions of what hypertension can feel like that leads to unnecessary panic. Below are some common myths of what you may experience if you have high blood pressure.

Diarrhea

High blood pressure does not directly cause diarrhea, though some blood pressure medications list diarrhea as a common side effect. This correlation may explain the misconception that diarrhea is an indicator of hypertension. In fact, significant diarrhea is more likely to lead to low blood pressure, dizziness, and lightheadedness because of dehydration. 

Researchers have also found that the gut microbiome may play a role in blood pressure regulation, but scientists are still working to understand how these findings may affect the prevention and treatment of hypertension.

Morning Grogginess

Feeling extreme grogginess in the morning is not a sign of high blood pressure, despite persistent misconception. Not to be confused with fatigue, morning grogginess is characterized by extreme confusion upon waking up. While blood pressure naturally rises right before you wake up as part of your natural sleep cycle, hypertension itself does not manifest as mental fogginess, dizziness, and headaches. If you experience extreme grogginess each morning, consider seeing a doctor to determine what could be causing it.

Sense of Impending Doom

A sense of impending doom sounds like it could herald a hypertensive crisis, but this is not a symptom associated with high blood pressure. However, this hopeless feeling should still be taken as a critical warning sign. A sense of impending doom is classically associated with anaphylaxis, acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and aortic dissection. Immediately contact emergency services if you suddenly feel a sense of impending doom

Hair Loss

Hair loss is unrelated to blood pressure itself. The misconception that it is a symptom of high blood pressure likely came about because some common blood pressure medications have been linked to temporary hair loss as a side effect.

Your Next Steps

Many of these blood pressure warning signs can be indicators of other medical conditions, but keep in mind that all of these symptoms can be due to factors other than hypertension too. Regularly checking your blood pressure at home and at the doctor’s office is considered the most reliable way to determine whether or not you have hypertension. If you find your readings are consistently high, you may need to discuss blood pressure medications and overall lifestyle changes with your doctor.