High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

High Blood Pressure Overview and Diagnosis

High blood pressure is a risk factor for many serious heart conditions, including heart attack and stroke, but can usually be well-controlled through diet and a healthy lifestyle.

Many people do not know they have high blood pressure, as it often has no obvious symptoms. Having your blood pressure checked is the only way to know whether it is in a normal or unhealthy range. Regular monitoring can help you tell if you have high blood pressure and notice changes over time.

Sometimes high blood pressure is the result of another condition, including kidney or thyroid problems, certain medications, and congenital heart defects. Called "secondary hypertension," this type of high blood pressure often has a sudden onset and can cause blood pressure to rise higher than it otherwise would.

Resistant Hypertension occurs when a patient’s high blood pressure does not respond to medications, meeting specific medical criteria. When a patient has resistant hypertension, it becomes more likely there is a secondary or underlying medical cause.

Stages of Blood Pressure

(source: American Heart Association)

Your risk of developing high blood pressure can be affected by:

• Older age (though children can also develop high blood pressure)
• Family history
• Race (African-Americans are affected by high blood pressure moreso than any other ethnic group in the U.S.)
• Gender (men under 45 are more likely to develop high blood pressure than women under 45; women over 65 are more likely to have high blood pressure than men over 65)
• Not getting enough exercise
• Being overweight or obese
• Eating an unhealthy diet (including high sodium intake)
• Heavy alcohol use

Stress and smoking are two other potential risk factors for high blood pressure, though how much of a role they play in the development of hypertension is not known.