High blood pressure - also called hypertension - occurs when your blood moves through your arteries at a higher pressure than normal.
High blood pressure increases your chance for getting heart disease and/or kidney disease, and for having a stroke. It is especially dangerous because it often has no warning signs or symptoms.
Blood pressure is really two measurements, separated by a slash when written, such as 120/80. The first number is the systolic pressure. This is the peak blood pressure when your heart is squeezing blood out. The second number is the diastolic blood pressure. It is the pressure when your heart is filling with blood (relaxing between beats). A normal blood pressure is less than 140/90. High blood pressure is higher than 140/90.
Blood pressure is measured by putting a blood pressure cuff around your arm, inflating the cuff and listening for the flow of blood. Our doctors will measure your blood pressure at more than one visit to see if you have high blood pressure. Even in children, blood pressure should be checked occasionally, beginning at about age 2. After age 21, have your blood pressure checked at least once every two years. Do it more often if you have had high blood pressure in the past.
Treatment begins with changes you can make in your lifestyle to help lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease. These things alone may work – if they don’t you may also need to take medicine.
Lifestyle changes:
- Stop caffeine
- Do not smoke cigarettes or use any tobacco product
- Lose weight if you are overweight
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a healthy diet that includes lots of fruit and vegetables and is low in fat
- Limit your sodium and alcohol intake
- Try relaxation techniques or biofeedback
The nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products causes your blood vessels to constrict and your heart to beat faster, which temporarily raises your blood pressure. If you quit smoking or using other tobacco products, you can significantly lower your risk of heart disease and heart attack, as well as lower your blood pressure.
Losing weight if you are overweight helps lower blood pressure in most people. Regular exercise is a good way to lose weight. It also seems to lower high blood pressure by itself.
Sodium can increase blood pressure in some people. Most people who have high blood pressure should limit the sodium in their daily diet to less than 2,400 mg.
Many different types of medicine can be used to treat high blood pressure. These are called antihypertensive medicines. The goal of treatment is to reduce your blood pressure to normal levels.
If your blood pressure can only be controlled with medicine, you will need to take the medicine for the rest of your life. Do not stop taking the medicine without talking to your doctor or you will increase your risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
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