What is high blood pressure, or hypertension?
Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the arteries as your blood circulates around your body. When your heart pumps, the pressure is highest. This is your systolic pressure (or the top number). In between beats, the pressure is lower. This is called diastolic pressure (recorded as the bottom number).
A normal, healthy blood pressure range is 120/80 mmHg to 140/90 mmHg. High blood pressure refers to a consistent blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg.
How is it measured?
Blood pressure is measured using a "sphygmomanometer" or blood pressure cuff. The cuff is placed around your arm and inflated until blood circulation is temporarily cut off. Then a valve is opened and the air is slowly let out of the cuff while the Healthcare Professional listens to the blood flow through a stethoscope at the inner elbow.
The Healthcare Professional will hear a sound when the blood first pushes though the artery as the heart pumps; this is the systolic pressure reading. As more air is released, the Healthcare Professional listens until the beating sound disappears; this gives the diastolic reading.
Blood pressure is measured in units of millimeters of mercury, written "mmHg." The first and higher number is your systolic blood pressure, and the second number is the diastolic blood pressure. The reading is written like this: 140/90 mmHg.
What do the numbers mean?
The numbers represent the pressure in your arteries both during the pumping of your heart (systolic pressure) and in between beats (diastolic pressure). The first and higher number is your systolic blood pressure, and the second, lower number is the diastolic blood pressure, i.e, 140/90 mmHg.
High blood pressure, or a consistent reading above 140/90 mmHg, means your heart is working harder than it should to circulate your blood.
What causes high blood pressure?
Who has high blood pressure?Approximately one out of every four American adults has high blood pressure, and more than half of those affected are over 65.
About one third of people with high blood pressure don't know that they have it, as it can have nonspecific symptoms that may go unnoticed for years.
Who is at risk?
High blood pressure can affect anyone. Although the causes of high blood pressure are not entirely known, contributory risk factors that increase the incidence of high blood pressure have been identified; they are family history, age, high-salt consumption, obesity and being overweight, and a sedentary or inactive lifestyle.
What are the effects and consequences if high blood pressure is left untreated?
High blood pressure left untreated can damage major organs including the heart, brain, and kidney. It is a major risk factor in heart failure, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and certain kinds of blindness.
High blood pressure is a risk factor or a cause of more than 210,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Many more people suffer with impaired abilities caused by the consequences of high blood pressure.
