What Is the Definition of High Blood Pressure?

According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, one out of every three people suffer from high blood pressure. Blood pressure is defined by the rate at which blood pumps through the arteries, specifically the relationship between the blood your heart pumps into your arteries and your arteries resistance of that blood flow. People with high pressure readings suffer from high blood pressure (also known as hypertension). Left untreated, high blood pressure may contribute to heart disease, stroke or kidney complications.

Definition

• Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Normal blood pressure is defined by medical professionals as anything below 120/80 mmHg. The first number (120) refers to the systolic blood pressure (the pressure during a heartbeat), while the second number (80) refers to the diastolic blood pressure (the pressure between heartbeats). If you have a systolic readings between 120 and 139 and/or a diastolic reading between 80 and 89, you have borderline high blood pressure (known as prehypertension). A reading above 139/89 is considered high blood pressure, with levels above 160/100 characterized as serious "stage 2" high blood pressure.

Causes

• As you age, your blood pressure naturally begins to rise. However, not everyone with high blood pressure is elderly. Other factors that may raise your blood pressure--even at a young age--include obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, a high-sodium diet, stress and alcoholism. Sometimes high blood pressure results from another condition such as kidney abnormalities, tumors of the adrenal gland and congenital heart problems.

  If you have immediate family members with high blood pressure, you are at an elevated risk for high blood pressure yourself. While everyone should monitor their blood pressure yearly, people with a family history of high blood pressure must remain especially vigilant.

Effects

• Since high blood pressure forces the heart to pump harder, your arteries in turn receive a heavier flow of blood. Over time, this will wear your body down. Furthermore, all the additional force your heart needs to pump blood will cause it to enlarge. According to the American Heart Association, a 50 year-old man with high blood pressure is three times more likely to die from a heart attack or kidney disease than a 50 year-old man with normal blood pressure. Even worse, the same man is four times as likely to die from a stroke as a man with normal blood pressure. Heart attack, stroke and kidney disease risk from high blood pressure is even more pronounced in women, as analogous increases in hypertension-related risk are observed in women as young as 40.

Treatments

• Although high blood pressure is a serious, life-threatening matter, it is also quite controllable. Dietary and lifestyle changes help many people get their blood pressure under control. People with high blood pressure should eat low-sodium diets. As you shop, look for items that have "no salt added" and try not to add salt to your meals. Daily aerobic exercise of 30 to 60 minutes a day will also help to lower blood pressure. If you smoke, quit. Likewise, if you drink, quit or cut back to a moderate amount (no more than one drink a day for women, two drinks a day for men).

  Unfortunately, many people follow a strict low-sodium diet, exercise and don't smoke, yet still have high blood pressure. When diet and lifestyle changes alone are not enough to stabilize blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe medication to help you. High blood pressure medications include diuretics (pills that reduce your blood's overall volume), beta blockers that widen your blood vessels and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors that prevent your body's production of chemicals that may narrow your arteries.

Considerations

• While blood pressure changes over time, it also may change over the course of a day. Thus, if you have always had normal blood pressure and receive a high blood pressure reading during an isolated doctor's visit, don't get alarmed. Blood pressure may rise temporarily due to everyday stress, tension over a doctor's visit (known as white coat hypertension) or recent medicinal/dietary changes. If you believe that your high blood pressure reading is a fluke, ask your doctor to take your blood pressure again at the end of the check-up or monitor your blood pressure with an at-home blood pressure reader. Many pharmacies also have free blood pressure readers (although due to frequent use these may not have the accuracy of a doctor's blood pressure reader).