High Blood Pressure

The heart is a muscle that pumps blood around the body and as it pumps it creates pressure. Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted against the walls of the arteries as blood flows through them. If blood pressure is too high it means that the walls of the arteries are repeatedly receiving too much pressure.

Anyone whose blood pressure is measured at 140/90 or more for a sustained period of time is said to have high blood pressure/hypertension.

The symptoms

It is unusual to experience any symptoms until blood pressure reaches about 180/110. These symptoms may include headache, nausea, dizziness, vertigo, blurred vision, nose bleeds, shortness of breath and palpitations.

The causes

Risk factors include age, family history, diabetes, stress, ethnic background, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and a high salt intake.

Overweight and obese people are more likely to develop high blood pressure than people of a normal weight.

Complications

If high blood pressure remains untreated the excessive pressure on the artery walls can lead to damage of the blood vessels (cardiovascular disease).

It can cause stroke, heart attack, heart failure, blood clot, aneurysm, kidney disease, metabolic syndrome and cognitive/memory problems.