{"id":2165,"date":"2023-12-15T05:55:16","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T05:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/?p=2165"},"modified":"2023-12-27T07:54:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T07:54:54","slug":"high-blood-pressure-symptoms-causes-and-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/2023\/12\/15\/high-blood-pressure-symptoms-causes-and-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"High Blood Pressure Symptoms, Causes, and Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What is blood pressure?<\/h2>\n<p>Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body.<\/p>\n<p>Your blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/BP-illustration-320x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"210\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What do blood pressure numbers mean?<\/h2>\n<p>Blood pressure is measured using two numbers:<\/p>\n<p>The first number, called\u00a0<em>systolic<\/em>\u00a0blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.<\/p>\n<p>The second number, called\u00a0<em>diastolic<\/em>\u00a0blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.<\/p>\n<p>If the measurement reads 120 systolic and 80 diastolic, you would say, \u201c120 over 80,\u201d or write, \u201c120\/80 mmHg.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>What are normal blood pressure numbers?<\/h2>\n<p>A normal blood pressure level is less than 120\/80 mmHg.<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>No matter your age, you can\u00a0take steps each day to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range<\/p>\n<h2>What is high blood pressure (hypertension)?<\/h2>\n<p>High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is blood pressure that is higher than normal. Your blood pressure changes throughout the day based on your activities. Having blood pressure measures consistently above normal may result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure (or hypertension).<\/p>\n<p>The higher your blood pressure levels, the more risk you have for other health problems, such as\u00a0heart disease, heart attack, and\u00a0stroke.<\/p>\n<p>Your health care team can diagnose high blood pressure and make treatment decisions by reviewing your systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and comparing them to levels found in certain guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>The guidelines used to diagnose high blood pressure may differ from health care professional to health care professional:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Some health care professionals diagnose patients with high blood pressure if their blood pressure is consistently 140\/90 mm Hg or higher.<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0This limit is based on a guideline released in 2003, as seen in the table below.<\/li>\n<li>Other health care professionals diagnose patients with high blood pressure if their blood pressure is consistently 130\/80 mm Hg or higher.<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0This limit is based on a guideline released in 2017, as seen in the table below.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table class=\"table\" data-preserve-inline-styles=\"true\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"4\" scope=\"col\">Blood Pressure Levels<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"2\" scope=\"col\">The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (2003 Guideline)<sup>2<\/sup><\/th>\n<td colspan=\"2\"><strong>The American College of Cardiology\/American Heart Association Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults (2017 Guideline)<sup>1<\/sup><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Normal<\/td>\n<td>systolic: less than 120 mm Hg<br \/>\ndiastolic: less than 80 mm Hg<\/td>\n<td>Normal<\/td>\n<td>systolic: less than 120 mm Hg<br \/>\ndiastolic: less than 80 mm Hg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>At Risk (prehypertension)<\/td>\n<td>systolic: 120\u2013139 mm Hg<br \/>\ndiastolic: 80\u201389 mm Hg<\/td>\n<td>Elevated<\/td>\n<td>systolic: 120\u2013129 mm Hg<br \/>\ndiastolic: less than 80 mm Hg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>High Blood Pressure (hypertension)<\/td>\n<td>systolic: 140 mm Hg or higher<br \/>\ndiastolic: 90 mm Hg or higher<\/td>\n<td>High blood pressure (hypertension)<\/td>\n<td>systolic: 130 mm Hg or higher<br \/>\ndiastolic: 80 mm Hg or higher<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, talk with your health care team about your blood pressure levels and how these levels affect your treatment plan.<\/p>\n<h2>What are the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure?<\/h2>\n<p>High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/bloodpressure\/measure.htm\">Measuring your blood pressure<\/a>\u00a0is the only way to know whether you have\u00a0high blood pressure.<\/p>\n<h2>What causes high blood pressure?<\/h2>\n<p>High blood pressure usually develops over time. It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/bloodpressure\/risk_factors.htm\">Certain health conditions<\/a>, such as diabetes and having obesity, can also increase the risk for developing high blood pressure.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/bloodpressure\/pregnancy.htm\">High blood pressure can also happen during pregnancy.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What problems does high blood pressure cause?<\/h2>\n<p>High blood pressure can damage your health in many ways. It can seriously hurt important organs like your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that, in most cases, you can manage your blood pressure to lower your risk for serious health problems.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/hypertension-complications-medium-320x267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"267\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Heart Attack and Heart Disease<\/h3>\n<p>High blood pressure can damage your arteries by making them less elastic, which decreases the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart and leads to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/heartdisease\/index.htm\">heart disease<\/a>. In addition, decreased blood flow to the heart can cause:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Chest pain, also called angina.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/heartdisease\/heart_attack.htm\">Heart attack<\/a>, which happens when the blood supply to your heart is blocked and heart muscle begins to die without enough oxygen. The longer the blood flow is blocked, the greater the damage to the heart.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/heartdisease\/heart_failure.htm\">Heart failure<\/a>, a condition that means your heart can\u2019t pump enough blood and oxygen to your other organs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Stroke and Brain Problems<\/h3>\n<p>High blood pressure can cause the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain to burst or be blocked, causing a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/stroke\/index.htm\">stroke<\/a>. Brain cells die during a\u00a0stroke\u00a0because they do not get enough oxygen. Stroke can cause serious disabilities in speech, movement, and other basic activities. A stroke can also kill you.<\/p>\n<p>Having high blood pressure, especially in midlife, is linked to having poorer cognitive function and dementia later in life. Learn more about the link between high blood pressure and dementia from the National Institutes of Health\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindyourrisks.nih.gov\/\" data-domain-ext=\"gov\">Mind Your Risks<\/a>\u00a0campaign.<\/p>\n<h3>Kidney Disease<\/h3>\n<p>Adults with diabetes, high blood pressure, or both have a higher risk of developing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/kidneydisease\/basics.html\">chronic kidney disease<\/a>\u00a0than those without these conditions.<\/p>\n<h2>How do I know if I have high blood pressure?<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s only one way to know if you have high blood pressure: Have a doctor or other health professional measure it.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/bloodpressure\/measure.htm\">Measuring your blood pressure<\/a>\u00a0is quick and painless.<\/p>\n<p>Talk with your health care team about regularly measuring your blood pressure at home, also called self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>High blood pressure is called the \u201csilent killer\u201d because it usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it.<\/p>\n<h2>What can I do to prevent or manage high blood pressure?<\/h2>\n<p>Many people with high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure into a healthy range or keep their numbers in a healthy range by making\u00a0<strong>lifestyle changes<\/strong>. Talk with your health care team about<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week (about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)<\/li>\n<li>Not smoking<\/li>\n<li>Eating a healthy diet, including limiting sodium (salt) and alcohol<\/li>\n<li>Keeping a healthy weight<\/li>\n<li>Managing stress<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Learn more about ways to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/bloodpressure\/manage.htm\">manage<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/bloodpressure\/prevent.htm\">prevent<\/a>\u00a0high blood pressure.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to making positive lifestyle changes, some people with high blood pressure need to<strong>\u00a0take medicine\u00a0<\/strong>to manage their blood pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Talk with your health care team right away if you think you have high blood pressure or if you\u2019ve been told you have high blood pressure but do not have it under control.<\/p>\n<p>By taking action to lower your blood pressure, you can help protect yourself against heart disease and stroke, also sometimes called cardiovascular disease (CVD).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body.Your blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[70,71,62,61],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2165"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2241,"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165\/revisions\/2241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/php74.openwavecomp.net\/ChipAnalytics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}