When your heart beats, it pumps blood in your body to give the energy and oxygen it needs. As the blood moves, it pushes against the sides of the blood vessels. The strength of this pushing is your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your arteries (and your heart) and this may lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Ideally, we should all have a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80). This is the ideal blood pressure for people wishing to have good health. At this level, we have a much lower risk of heart disease or stroke.
Person probably have high blood pressure (hypertension) if blood pressure readings are constantly 140 over 90, or higher, over a number of weeks.
Person may also have high blood pressure if just one of the numbers is higher than it should be over a number of weeks.
If a person has high blood pressure, this higher pressure puts extra strain on the heart and blood vessels. Over time, this extra strain increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure can also cause heart and kidney disease, and is closely linked to some forms of dementia.
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 can help to lower your blood pressure and your risk of stroke and heart attack, by making lifestyle changes.
Many people worry about low blood pressure (hypotension), but probably don't need to. Some people have a blood pressure level that is lower than normal. In general, this may be good news - because the lower your blood pressure is, the lower your risk of stroke or heart disease. However, in a few cases, having low blood pressure can cause problems, so you might need to speak to your doctor or nurse.
Some people have a blood pressure level that is naturally low. That is, there is no specific cause or reason why. However, some health conditions or medicines can cause you to develop low blood pressure.
Most people with low blood pressure will not need treatment. If your doctor or nurse feels that you would benefit from treatment, they will often try to find a cause for your low blood pressure. If they can find the cause, they should be able to decide on the most appropriate treatment for you.