High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. Having high blood pressure means that your blood pressure is consistently higher than it should be. It is important to reduce high blood pressure because it puts a strain on your blood vessels and heart.

Over time, this can lead to serious problems such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, heart disease and heart failure. It is thought that globally, around 25% of adults have hypertension.

When you have a blood pressure check it records two figures. The higher number is the systolic pressure and the lower number is the diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure measures when your heart beats and contracts to pump blood around the body. The diastolic pressure measures the resistance to blood flow in the vessels when your heart relaxes.

High and healthy blood pressure might be slightly different for different people. As a general guide, healthy blood pressure is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. A blood pressure reading above 120/80mmHg and below 140/90mmHg could indicate you are at risk of hypertension. A consistent blood pressure reading above 140/90mmHg is usually considered to be high blood pressure/hypertension.
Unless someone has very high blood pressure (hypertensive crisis), there are usually no high blood pressure symptoms. The only way to find out whether you have hypertension is to have a blood pressure test. This can be done at your GP surgery or at your local pharmacy. BP monitors are also available to buy to use at home.

Often, there is no obvious cause of hypertension but there are a number of risk factors that are known to increase your risk. Some of these factors are things you cannot change. For example, a family history of hypertension, age, living in a deprived area, and being of black African or black Caribbean descent.

There are some lifestyle factors that increase the risk of hypertension. These factors include:

• Being overweight or obese
• Not exercising regularly
• Smoking
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Eating too much salt

Lifestyle changes can reduce your risk of high blood pressure or lower your blood pressure if it is already high.