DO YOU NEED TO WORRY?

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 407.

And if your blood pressure is still high?

Assess your risk

Hypertension rarely has any symptoms and anyone can be at risk, but some groups are more susceptible and should be extra vigilant. Your risk is higher if;

· You have a family history of high blood pressure, strokes or heart attacks

· You're overweight, eat too much salt, take little exercise, drink too much alcohol, and have a low intake of fruit and vegetables

· You have diabetes, kidney disease or heart disease

· You're black or South Asian. Research suggests that black people are more sensitive to salt in the diet and have a higher risk of stroke, while South Asians have a higher risk of diabetes and heart attack

· When checked, your blood pressure was at the higher end of the normal range.

For some people lifestyle changes will be enough to reduce blood pressure to a safe level, but others will need drugs that help open up the blood vessels, making it easier for the heart to function effectively or work through the brain to lower the body's blood pressure. Once you start medication, you'll be taking it for life, but there's strong evidence that, as long as your blood pressure is well controlled, it will reduce your risk of stroke, heart attacks and heart failure.

Blood pressure - the force of blood against the artery walls - is measured in millimetres of mercury (mm Hg) and recorded as two numbers: the systolic pressure (the pressure as the heart beats) over the diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes between beats). Both numbers are important, but research has shown that it's the systolic pressure that reflects the damage to the arteries.