High Blood Pressure Signs and Symptoms

High blood pressure is often itself a symptom of another condition, resulting from poor diet, congenital heart defects, chronic drug use or simply hypertension building up over many years. Signs of high blood pressure can develop as early as childhood, but sometimes don't appear until later in life. The American Medical Association and other organizations have identified several potential signs of high blood pressure.

The Silent Killer

• Hypertension often arises without any symptoms at all, which has led doctors to dub it "the silent killer." High blood pressure can be detected with a blood pressure screening as part of an annual physical. Many drugstores also have blood pressure monitoring machines where you can check your blood pressure for free.

Headaches

• High blood pressure sometimes announces itself through severe headaches that have no other apparent cause.

Nausea

• Though a common symptom for many conditions, nausea may be a signal of abnormally high blood pressure.

Blurry Vision

• Blurred eyesight sometimes arises in cases of dangerously high blood pressure.

Breathlessness

• Patients with high blood pressure may experience shortness of breath, and tire easily when conducting normal day-to-day activities.