High blood pressure is when the force of blood flowing through your blood vessels is regularly too high. It is sometimes called HBP, or hypertension, and nearly half of American adults have it.
Many people with high blood pressure don’t know they have it. The condition can exist without obvious symptoms, and left untreated, puts undue stress on your circulatory system and damages your blood vessels. LDL cholesterol can accumulate along these damaged arteries and blood vessels, putting you at greater risk for an array of serious, sometimes deadly, medical conditions.
Possible Complications of High Blood Pressure include:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Kidney disease or failure
- Vision loss
- Sexual dysfunction
Diagnosing HBP
High blood pressure can be prevented, treated, and managed, so get your blood pressure measured regularly.
This screening is performed at most routine medical visits, and you’ve likely experienced it before. A medical provider places a pressure cuff around the upper arm. The cuff inflates, compresses the brachial artery, and briefly stops blood flow. As the air in the cuff slowly releases, the provider will either listen with a stethoscope or monitor the electronic readout.
A blood pressure reading is recorded as two numbers:
- Systolic blood pressure (the top number) measures how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls during heartbeats.
- Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) measures how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls while the heart is resting between beats.
A normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg. Check out the chart below to understand ranges.
Treatment
If you learn that you have high blood pressure, you should take steps to get it under control. You may be able to lower it by being physically active and eating a healthy diet. In addition to lifestyle changes, many people also take medicine to help keep their blood pressure at healthy levels.