What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry
blood from your heart to other parts of your body.
Your blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day.
What do blood pressure numbers mean?
Blood pressure is measured using two numbers:
The first number, called systolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when
your heart beats.
The second number, called diastolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when
your heart rests between beats.
If the measurement reads 120 systolic and 80 diastolic, you would say, “120 over 80,” or write,
“120/80 mmHg.”
What are normal blood pressure numbers?
A normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg.1
No matter your age, you can take steps each day to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.
What is high blood pressure (hypertension)?
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is blood pressure that is higher than normal. Your
blood pressure changes throughout the day based on your activities. Having blood pressure
measures consistently above normal may result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure (or
hypertension).
The higher your blood pressure levels, the more risk you have for other health problems, such
as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Your health care team can diagnose high blood pressure and make treatment decisions by
reviewing your systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and comparing them to levels found
in certain guidelines.
The guidelines used to diagnose high blood pressure may differ from health care professional to
health care professional:
Some health care professionals diagnose patients with high blood pressure if their blood
pressure is consistently 140/90 mm Hg or higher.2 This limit is based on a guideline
released in 2003, as seen in the table below.
Other health care professionals diagnose patients with high blood pressure if their blood
pressure is consistently 130/80 mm Hg or higher.1 This limit is based on a guideline
released in 2017, as seen in the table below.
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Blood Pressure Levels
Blood Pressure Levels
The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, The American College of
Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (2003 Cardiology/American Hear
Guideline)2 Association Guideline for th
Prevention, Detection, Eval
Management of High Blood
in Adults (2017 Guideline)1
Normal systolic: less than 120 mm Hg Normal systol
diastolic: less than 80 mm Hg 120 m
diasto
than 8
At Risk (prehypertension) systolic: 120–139 mm Hg Elevated systol
diastolic: 80–89 mm Hg mm H
diasto
than 8
High Blood Pressure (hypertension) systolic: 140 mm Hg or higher High blood pressure systol
diastolic: 90 mm Hg or higher (hypertension) Hg or
diasto
Hg or
If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, talk with your health care team about your blood
pressure levels and how these levels affect your treatment plan.
What are the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure?
High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know
they have it. Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high
blood pressure.
What causes high blood pressure?
High blood pressure usually develops over time. It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle
choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity. Certain health conditions, such as
diabetes and having obesity, can also increase the risk for developing high blood pressure. High
blood pressure can also happen during pregnancy.
You can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems that may
affect your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
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What problems does high blood pressure cause?
High blood pressure can damage your health in many ways. It can seriously hurt important
organs like your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
The good news is that, in most cases, you can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for
serious health problems.
Heart Attack and Heart Disease
High blood pressure can damage your arteries by making them less elastic, which decreases the
flow of blood and oxygen to your heart and leads to heart disease. In addition, decreased blood
flow to the heart can cause:
Chest pain, also called angina.
Heart attack, which happens when the blood supply to your heart is blocked and heart
muscle begins to die without enough oxygen. The longer the blood flow is blocked, the
greater the damage to the heart.
Heart failure, a condition that means your heart can’t pump enough blood and oxygen to
your other organs.
Stroke and Brain Problems
High blood pressure can cause the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to burst or
be blocked, causing a stroke. Brain cells die during a stroke because they do not get enough
oxygen. Stroke can cause serious disabilities in speech, movement, and other basic activities. A
stroke can also kill you.
Having high blood pressure, especially in midlife, is linked to having poorer cognitive function
and dementia later in life. Learn more about the link between high blood pressure and dementia
from the National Institutes of Health’s Mind Your Risks® campaign.
Kidney Disease
Adults with diabetes, high blood pressure, or both have a higher risk of developing chronic
kidney disease than those without these conditions.
High Blood Pressure Symptoms, Causes, and Problems | cdc.gov. (2021, May 18). Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm
