High Blood Pressure: what's it all about?

What is high blood pressure?

Hypertension (also known as high blood pressure) is when your heart is pushing blood through your body at a very high pressure

What's so bad about it?

High blood pressure weakens the body's blood vessels and does bad things to your health, like adding to heart disease, artery disease, and kidney disease. Having high blood pressure for a long time makes you more likely to have a stroke or aneurysm. 

What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is often present without any symptoms, which is why it's very important to have your blood pressure checked often. 

When symptoms are present, they usually include headaches, dizzy spells, and nosebleeds. 

What blood pressure values are considered high?

As you can see in the chart below, a normal blood pressure is approximately 120/80. 

Prehypertension (the phase before hypertension) is anywhere up to 139/89. This is the stage at which you should begin to take steps to control your blood pressure, but it is unlikely that damage is being done to your body at this point. 

When your blood pressure reaches Stage 1 and Stage 2, which is labelled as anything between 140/90 and 179/109, it is likely that damage is being done to the body by the high level of force at which blood is being pushed around the body.

Source: American Heart Association

Below is a video from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that gives a practical explanation of what hypertension is and how is affects our bodies. 

Sources:

• American Heart Association 
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Mayo Clinic
• National Institutes of Health