High blood pressure
What Is Blood Pressure ?
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through them. The narrower an artery, the greater the force needed to push the blood through it. Blood pressure is measured with a cuff your health care worker places around your arm. The pressure reading is given as two values e.g. 120/80. The higher value is referred to as the systolic pressure (when the heart beats), the lower value as the diastolic pressure (when the heart rests between beats).
What Is High Blood Pressure ?
High blood pressure (or hypertension) refers to bloodpressure that is high enough to damage the blood vessels and organs in the body, eventually leading to health problems such as heart disease.