Heart failure does not generally cause high blood pressure. However, high blood pressure is the leading contributing factor to heart failure.

Most people with heart failure have a history of high blood pressure. According to the Framingham Heart Study, an ongoing, long-term study that started in 1948, as many as 91% of participants diagnosed with heart failure had high blood pressure.

When you have high blood pressure, your blood vessels narrow, making your heart work harder to pump blood through the narrowed vessels. This starts a cycle in which your heart becomes enlarged as it works harder, and eventually it weakens as it works harder.

In the later stages of heart failure, your blood pressure may actually lower as your heart weakens and is unable to effectively pump blood through the vessels.

Monitoring and lowering blood pressure may help prevent heart failure. While the relationship between high blood pressure and heart failure is still not fully understood, lowering your blood pressure is beneficial for many reasons, one of which is that it reduces your risk of developing heart failure.

If you have high blood pressure, work with a doctor or healthcare professional to manage the condition and lower it if possible. If you think you may have high blood pressure, seek medical care. While high blood pressure often has no symptoms, when high blood pressure symptoms are present, they may include:

You can purchase blood pressure monitors for home use. Call 911 immediately if you have a reading of a systolic pressure (the top number) of 180 mm Hg or above or a diastolic pressure (the bottom number) of 120 mm Hg or above. This is a medical emergency, and you need immediate care. Don’t drive yourself. Generally, you will receive faster care if you call 911.