What is High Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the amount
of mercury (measured in millimeters) that your blood applies against
the artery walls. A normal blood pressure is 120/80 mm Hg. Hypertension
(high blood pressure) is when your blood pressure frequently goes over
140/90 mm Hg. A patient is considered "pre-hypertensive" if the
top (systolic) number of the blood pressure reading is 120-139 mm Hg
and if the bottom (diastolic) number is over 80-89 mm Hg on most
measurements. The systolic pressure is the measurement of your
blood pressure when your heart is active or beating and the diastolic
number is the measurement when your heart is at rest.
If you have pre-hypertension, you are likely to develop high blood
pressure at some point, unless you make lifestyle changes to lower your
blood pressure to normal.
The higher your blood pressure, the greater your risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure.
High blood pressure is often called the silent killer because it
usually has no symptoms. Often people go years without knowing that
high blood pressure is slowly damaging their heart. The only way
to know if you have high blood pressure is to have it checked on a
regular basis. When high blood pressure is not found and treated,
it can cause:
- The heart to get larger, which may lead to heart failure;
- Small bulges (aneurysms) to form in blood vessels. Common locations are the main artery from the heart (aorta), arteries in the brain, legs, and intestines, and the artery leading to the spleen;
- Blood vessels in the kidney to narrow, which may cause kidney failure;
- Arteries throughout the body to "harden" faster, especially those in the heart, brain, kidneys, and legs. This can cause a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or amputation of part of the leg;
- Blood vessels in the eyes to burst or bleed, which may cause vision changes and can result in blindness.
The good news is that most often high blood pressure can be controlled with the proper diet, exercise and medications.