Only then should the doctor diagnose you with hypertension. If there is no such evidence, you should return for at least two more blood pressure measurements. If your blood pressure is high, your doctor should examine your eyes, heart, and nervous system, to look for evidence of damage from hypertension. Two readings should be recorded and averaged. To obtain an accurate blood pressure measurement:Īvoid the following for at least one hour before you have your blood pressure taken:īe seated for at least five minutes before the reading is taken.ĭo not talk while your blood pressure is being measured. Therefore, it's essential that blood pressure be measured carefully. The diagnosis of hypertension depends on blood pressure readings. When blood pressure is very high, it can cause: Usually, hypertension does not directly cause symptoms. For example, hypertension increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.
You may not recognize the damage that silent hypertension has been doing to your body until you suddenly are stricken with a major disease. So why worry about high blood pressure? Because even when high blood pressure is not causing any symptoms, it can silently damage many organs, including the: Stage 2 hypertension: 140/90 mm Hg and aboveĪlthough high blood pressure can cause symptoms such as headache and pounding heartbeat, it often causes no symptoms at all. Stage 1 hypertension: 130/80 to 139/89 mm Hg Based on this new definition, nearly half of Americans now fall into this group.īlood pressure is now categorized as follows: According to new guidelines, anyone with a reading of 130/80 mm Hg or higher has blood pressure. In November, 2017, new United States guidelines lowered the threshold for diagnosing the condition. High blood pressure is also called hypertension.įor decades, high blood pressure was defined as 140/90 mm Hg. High blood pressure is diagnosed when one or both of these numbers is too high. So blood pressure would be expressed, for example, as 120/80 mm Hg.
It refers to the pressure in the blood vessels between heartbeats.īlood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). It represents the pressure the heart generates when it beats to pump blood to the rest of the body.ĭiastolic pressure is the bottom number. What is High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)?