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High Blood Pressure Management

Recent estimates state that nearly one in three adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure! But, nearly 1/3 or these people don’t know they have it because there are no symptoms. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure. This is why high blood pressure is often called the "silent killer." The only way to tell if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked.

Everybody has — and needs — blood pressure. Without it, blood can't circulate through the body. And without circulating blood, vital organs can't get the oxygen and food that they need to work. So it's important to know about blood pressure and how to keep it within a healthy level. Normal blood pressure falls within a range; it's not one set of numbers.

When the heart beats, it pumps blood to the arteries and creates pressure in them. This pressure (blood pressure) results from two forces. The first force is created as blood pumps into the arteries and through the circulatory system. The second is created as the arteries resist the blood flow.

If you're healthy, your arteries are muscular and elastic. They stretch when your heart pumps blood through them. How much they stretch depends on how much force the blood exerts.

Your heart beats about 60 to 80 times a minute under normal conditions. Your blood pressure rises with each heartbeat and falls when your heart relaxes between beats. Your blood pressure can change from minute to minute, with changes in posture, exercise or sleeping, but it should normally be less than 120/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) for an adult. Blood pressure that stays between 120–139/80–89 is considered prehypertension and above this level (140/90 mm Hg or higher) is considered high (hypertension). Your doctor may take several readings over time before deciding whether your blood pressure is high.

What do blood pressure numbers indicate?

The systolic pressure is always stated first and the diastolic pressure second. For example: 118/76 (118 over 76); systolic = 118, diastolic = 76.

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