high blood pressure

What is high blood pressure?



High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension means high pressure (tension)

in the arteries. Arteries are vessels that carry blood from the pumping heart to
all the tissues and

organs of the body. High blood pressure does not mean excessive emotional
tension,

although emotional tension and stress

can temporarily increase blood pressure

. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80; blood pressure between

120/80 and 139/89 is called "pre-hypertension",

and a blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered high.



The top number, the systolic blood pressure,

corresponds to the pressure in the arteries as the heart contracts and

pumps blood forward into the arteries. The bottom number, the diastolic
pressure,

represents the pressure in the arteries as the heart relaxes after the
contraction.

The diastolic pressure reflects the lowest pressure to which the arteries are
exposed.



An elevation of the systolic

and/or diastolic blood pressure increases the risk of developing heart (cardiac)

disease, kidney (renal) disease, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis or
arteriosclerosis),

eye damage, and stroke (brain damage). These complications of hypertension are
often referred

to as end-organ damage because damage to these organs is the end result of
chronic

(long duration) high blood pressure. For that reason, the diagnosis of high
blood pressure is

important so efforts can be made to normalize blood pressure and prevent
complications.



It was previously thought that rises in diastolic blood pressure

were a more important risk factor than systolic elevations, but it is now known

that in people 50 years or older systolic hypertension represents a greater
risk.



The American Heart Association estimates high blood pressure affects
approximately one in three

adults in the United States - 73 million people. High blood pressure is also

estimated to affect about two million American teens and children,

and the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that many

are under-diagnosed. Hypertension is clearly a major public health problem.