What is High Blood Pressure or Hypertension?
Representation
of force as the heart pumps blood throughout
the blood vessel circuit.
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Blood pressure is the measure of the force generated
by the heart against the artery walls. This force
is expressed as two numbers, such as 110 over
80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury).
The first
number, the systolic blood
pressure, represents the amount of force
used by the heart to initially fill the blood
vessel circuit; the second number, the diastolic blood
pressure, is a measure of the resistance
to that force. Combined, these numbers give
your health care provider a picture of how
hard your heart is working to get blood to
the tissues in your body.
High blood pressure, or hypertension,
is blood pressure that consistently reads above
120 over 80 mm Hg (130 over 80 mm Hg if you are
a diabetic). Your blood pressure is low if less
than 90 over 60 mm Hg (if you're blood pressure
falls outside of this range, either too high
or too low, you should speak with your primary
care physician or cardiologist as soon as possible).
High blood pressure causes undue stress to the
circulation of key organs, particularly the
brain, heart and kidneys. This leads to increased
risk of stroke, heart attack and kidney failure.
High blood pressure also can cause an aneurysm,
a small balloon-like weakening of the artery
wall, which can be life-threatening.
Hypertension can be especially hard to manage
when combined with other disorders, such as diabetes
or obesity.
Reviewed by: Emile Mohler, MD
Last Updated: December 2001
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