What Is High Blood Pressure?

Each time you heart beats, it pumps oxygen-rich blood through the
blood vessels, or arteries, that run through your body. Blood pressure
is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries.

The pressure of blood against the artery walls when your heart beats
is called systolic pressure. The pressure between beats when your
heart relaxes is called diastolic pressure.

Blood pressure is always given as 2 numbers, the systolic and
diastolic pressures. Both are important. Usually they are written one
above the other for example, 120/80mmHg. The top or first number is
the systolic and the bottom or second, is the diastolic. If your blood
pressure is 120/80 you that is "120/80"

Your blood pressure changes throughout the day. It is lowest when
you’re sleeping, and it rises when you awaken. It also can rise when
you are excited, nervous, or active. So it varies throughout the day.

A systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or higher, or a diastolic blood
pressure of 90 mmHg or higher, is considered high blood pressure, or
hypertension. Hypertension is the medical term for high blood
pressure.

If you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease, a systolic blood
pressure of 130 mmHg or higher or a diastolic blood pressure of 80
mmHg or higher is considered high blood pressure.

High blood pressure currently affects more than 65 million Americans.
That is 1 in every 3 Adults.

High blood pressure is often called "the silent killer" because it usually
has no symptoms. Some people may not find out they have high
blood pressure until they have trouble with their heart, brain, or
kidneys. When high blood pressure is not diagnosed and treated, it
can lead to other life-threatening conditions, including heart attacks,
stroke, and kidney failure.

High blood pressure can cause you heart to work to hard and become
larger, which can lead to heart failure. Small bulges (aneurysms) to
form in your blood vessels. Common locations for aneurysms are the
aorta, which is the main artery from the heart; the arteries in your
brain, legs, and intestines; and the artery leading to you spleen.

It can also cause blood vessels in your kidneys to narrow, which can
cause kidney failure, and blood vessels in your eyes to burst or bleed,
which may cause vision changes and result in blindness. Also arteries
throughout your body can harden faster, especially those in your
heart, brain, kidneys, and legs. This can cause a heart attack, stroke,
or kidney failure, or lead to amputation of part of the leg.

A blood pressure reading of `120/80 mmHg or less is considered
normal. Usually, the lower the better. Although very low blood
pressure can sometimes be a cause of concern and should be
checked out by your Doctor.

If either you systolic or diastolic blood pressure is higher than normal
but not high enough to be considered high blood pressure (140/90),
you have pre-hypertension. Pre-hypertension is a top number
between 120 and 139 or a bottom number between 80 and 89 mmHg.

If you have pre-hypertension, your chances of developing high blood
pressure are greater than average unless you take action to prevent
it. In fact, have pre-hypertension doubles a woman's chances of
having heart disease or a stroke. That's a 100% increase. For men,
the increase is 45%.

About 2 out of every 3 people over the age of 60 who have high blood
pressure have isolated systolic hypertension. This means that only
the top number is high. Isolated systolic hypertension can be as
harmful as when both numbers are high.

You may have isolated systolic hypertension and feel fine. As with
other types of high blood pressure, it often causes no symptoms.

So in summing up, please have your blood pressure monitored often,
and take your medications daily if you are on blood pressure meds,
they may very well save your life!