What is high blood pressure?

What is high blood pressure?

If your reading is consistently 140 over 90, or higher, over a number of weeks you probably have high blood pressure. Your blood pressure may also be high if just one of the numbers is higher than it should be.

High blood pressure usually has no signs or symptoms, so the only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have yours measured. However, a single high reading does not necessarily mean you have high blood pressure. Many things can affect your blood pressure through the day, so you will need to see that it stays high over time.

Why is high blood pressure important?

If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. Over time, this extra strain can damage your body’s organs, which puts you at risk of health problems.

If you have high blood pressure and do not control it, this raises your risk of a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure can also cause heart and kidney disease, and is closely connected to some forms of dementia.

What causes high blood pressure?

For most people, there may be no single cause for their high blood pressure. We do not know exactly what causes high blood pressure. We do know that your lifestyle can affect your risk of developing it. You are at a higher risk if:

• you don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables;
• you eat too much salt;
• you are not active enough;
• you are overweight; or
• you drink too much alcohol.

Some people may have high blood pressure that is linked to another medical condition, such as kidney problems. For these people, treating the medical problem can lower their blood pressure back to normal.