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High blood pressure - adults

Definition

Blood pressure is a measurement of the force exerted against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood to your body. Hypertension is the term used to describe high blood pressure.

Untreated high blood pressure can lead to many medical problems. These include heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, eye problems, and other health issues.

Blood pressure readings are given as two numbers. The top number is called systolic blood pressure. The bottom number is called diastolic blood pressure. For example, 120 over 80 (written as 120/80 mm Hg).

One or both of these numbers can be too high. (Note: These numbers apply to people who are not taking medicines for blood pressure and who are not ill.)

  • Normal blood pressure is when your blood pressure is lower than 120/80 mm Hg most of the time.
  • High blood pressure (hypertension) is when one or both of your blood pressure readings are higher than 130/80 mm Hg most of the time.
  • If the top blood pressure number is between 120 and 130 mm Hg, and the bottom blood pressure number is less than 80 mm Hg, it is called elevated blood pressure.

If you have heart or kidney problems, or you had a stroke, your doctor may want your blood pressure to be even lower than that of people who do not have these conditions.

Patient Education Video: Hypertension

Alternative Names

Hypertension; HBP; High blood pressure

Causes

Many factors can affect blood pressure, including:

  • The amount of water and salt you have in your body
  • The condition of your kidneys, nervous system, or blood vessels
  • Your hormone levels

You are more likely to be told your blood pressure is too high as you get older. This is because your blood vessels become stiffer as you age. When that happens, your blood pressure goes up. High blood pressure increases your chance of having a stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, or early death.

You have a higher risk of high blood pressure if you:

  • Are African American
  • Are obese
  • Are often stressed or anxious
  • Drink too much alcohol (more than 1 drink per day for women and more than 2 drinks per day for men)
  • Eat too much salt
  • Have a family history of high blood pressure
  • Have diabetes
  • Smoke

Most of the time, no cause of high blood pressure is found. This is called essential hypertension.

High blood pressure that is caused by another medical condition or medicine you are taking is called secondary hypertension. Secondary hypertension may be due to:

  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Disorders of the adrenal gland (such as pheochromocytoma or Cushing syndrome)
  • Hyperparathyroidism
  • Pregnancy or preeclampsia
  • Medicines such as birth control pills, diet pills, some cold medicines, migraine medicines, corticosteroids, some antipsychotics, and certain medicines used to treat cancer
  • Narrowed artery that supplies blood to the kidney (renal artery stenosis)
  • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

Is High Blood Pressure Affecting Your Health?

What is blood pressure?

Answer:

The correct answer is a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body. Your blood pressure is reported as two numbers: systolic over diastolic blood pressure. If either number is too high, there will be extra stress on your heart and blood vessels.
A common sign of high blood pressure is:

Answer:

The correct answer is none of the above. In most people, high blood pressure does not cause any symptoms. This means you may only find out about the problem when your doctor or nurse checks your blood pressure. Ask your doctor how to prevent high blood pressure.
When blood pressure stays high, it can lead to:

Answer:

The correct answer is all of the above. Diagnosing high blood pressure early can help prevent these health problems. Get your blood pressure checked every two years if it was normal at your last reading and at least once a year if it was 120/80 or above. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may ask you to check it at home.
High blood pressure can cause the heart muscle to thicken.

Answer:

The correct answer is true. As the heart muscle works harder, it can become so thick that it doesn't get enough oxygen. This can cause chest pain and may lead to heart failure. Heart failure occurs when the heart can't pump enough blood to the rest of your body. Talk with your doctor about how to lower high blood pressure.
High blood pressure can make the blood vessels wider.

Answer:

The correct answer is false. High blood pressure causes blood vessel walls to get thicker. Over time, fat and cholesterol can also build up on vessel walls. These two problems together cause blood vessels to become narrow, so blood can't flow as freely. Reduced blood flow can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Which is a sign of decreased blood flow?

Answer:

The correct answer is all of the above. High blood pressure can raise your risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD). This is the narrowing of the vessels that carry blood to the legs and feet. PAD occurs most often in men over age 50. See your doctor if you have high blood pressure and notice any discomfort in your legs or feet.
Which of the following are risk factors for stroke?

Answer:

The correct answer is all of the above. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that supplies the brain bursts or gets blocked by a blood clot. The symptoms depend on which part of the brain is affected. Ask your doctor to explain warning signs of stroke.
Which is NOT a common warning sign of stroke?

Answer:

The correct answer is chest pain. If you notice any signs of stroke listed above, call 9-1-1 immediately. Prompt treatment can save your life. If the stroke is caused by a blood clot, a clot-busting drug may be given to dissolve the clot. For this drug to work, you must be treated 3 to 4 1/2 hours after symptoms first started.
If high blood pressure affects your eyes, you might develop:

Answer:

The correct answer is all of the above. High blood pressure can damage blood vessels in the retina, the part of the eye that changes images into signals the brain can read. You may not have symptoms at first. Tell your doctor right away if you notice any changes in vision.
Symptoms of kidney disease appear immediately.

Answer:

The correct answer is false. Your kidneys remove wastes and excess water from your body. High blood pressure damages the kidneys, making it harder for them to function. Kidney disease often has no symptoms until a lot of damage has occurred. Controlling high blood pressure can protect your kidneys.

Symptoms

Most of the time, there are no symptoms. For most people, high blood pressure is found when they visit their health care provider or have it checked elsewhere.

Because there are no symptoms, people can develop heart disease and kidney problems without knowing they have high blood pressure.

Malignant hypertension is a dangerous form of very high blood pressure. Symptoms may include:

  • Severe headache
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Confusion
  • Vision changes
  • Nosebleeds

Exams and Tests

Patient Education Video: Tracking your blood pressure at home

Diagnosing high blood pressure early can help prevent heart disease, stroke, eye problems, and chronic kidney disease.

Your provider will measure your blood pressure many times before diagnosing you with high blood pressure. It is normal for your blood pressure to be different based on the time of day.

All adults over the age of 18 should have their blood pressure checked every year. More frequent measurements may be needed for those with a history of high blood pressure readings or those with risk factors for high blood pressure.

Blood pressure readings taken at home may be a better measure of your current blood pressure than those taken at your provider's office.

  • Make sure you get a good quality, well-fitting home blood pressure monitor. It should have a properly sized cuff and a digital readout.
  • Practice with your provider to make sure you are taking your blood pressure correctly.
  • You should be relaxed and seated for several minutes prior to taking a reading.
  • Bring your home monitor to your appointments so your provider can make sure it is working correctly.

Your provider will do a physical exam to look for signs of heart disease, damage to the eyes, and other changes in your body.

Tests may also be done to look for:

  • High cholesterol level
  • Heart disease, using tests such as an echocardiogram or electrocardiogram
  • Kidney disease, using tests such as a basic metabolic panel and urinalysis or ultrasound of the kidneys

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to reduce your blood pressure so that you have a lower risk of health problems caused by high blood pressure. You and your provider should set a blood pressure goal for you.

Whenever thinking about the best treatment for high blood pressure, you and your provider must consider other factors such as:

  • Your age
  • The medicines you take
  • Your risk of side effects from possible medications
  • Other medical conditions you may have, such as a history of heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, or diabetes

If your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 130/80 mm Hg, you have elevated blood pressure.

  • Your provider will recommend lifestyle changes to bring your blood pressure down to a normal range.
  • Medicines are rarely used at this stage.

If your blood pressure is higher than 130/80, but lower than 140/90 mm Hg, you have Stage 1 high blood pressure. When thinking about the best treatment, you and your provider must consider:

  • If you have no other diseases or risk factors, your provider may recommend lifestyle changes and repeat the measurements after a few months.
  • If your blood pressure remains above 130/80, but lower than 140/90 mm Hg, your provider may recommend medicines to treat high blood pressure.
  • If you have other diseases or risk factors, your provider may be more likely to start medicines at the same time as lifestyle changes.

If your blood pressure is higher than 140/90 mm Hg, you have Stage 2 high blood pressure. Your provider will most likely start you on medicines and recommend lifestyle changes.

Before making a final diagnosis of either elevated blood pressure or high blood pressure, your provider should ask you to have your blood pressure measured at home, at your pharmacy, or somewhere else besides their office or a hospital.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES

You can do many things to help control your blood pressure, including:

  • Eat a heart-healthy diet, including potassium and fiber.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Get at least 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise at least 3 to 4 days a week.
  • If you smoke, quit.
  • Limit how much alcohol you drink to 1 drink a day for women, and 2 a day for men or less and consider quitting entirely.
  • Limit the amount of sodium (salt) you eat. Aim for less than 1,500 mg per day.
  • Reduce stress. Try to avoid things that cause you stress, and try meditation or yoga to de-stress.
  • Stay at a healthy body weight.
Tracking your blood pressure at home
Following your blood pressure at home has gotten a lot easier in the last few years. I'm Dr. Alan Greene. I'd like to share with you a little bit about that. Not too long ago when you wanted to follow your blood pressure at home, you had to have the old fashion sphygmomometer, and the device was a complex as that word sounds. You had to pump something up, and put a stethoscope in your ears, and fumble all these different tubes and even so wouldn't get a very accurate reading. Now, there are simple, high quality, digital blood pressure cuffs. They're easy to use at home. They're built so they snap on the arm very easily, just press a single button, and the chip inside does the work for you. It blows it up, it gives you the reading, and some of the newer models even connect it to your PC and track the readings for you. Now, how accurate are they? They're really pretty good. I wouldn't trust a single reading that much if you get one that's high or low. I wouldn't be either reassured or panicked. But, I would trust the pattern of readings. So, if you have one that tracks it for you, that's great, if not, just write them down what date and time you took it and see what the pattern is over time. If there's anything of concern, be sure to report it to your physician.

Your provider can help you find programs for losing weight, stopping smoking, and exercising.

You can also get a referral to a dietitian, who can help you plan a diet that is healthy for you.

How low your blood pressure should be and at what level you need to start treatment is individualized, based on your age and any medical problems you have.

MEDICINES FOR HYPERTENSION

Most of the time, your provider will try lifestyle changes first, and check your blood pressure two or more times. Medicines will likely be started if your blood pressure readings remain at or above these levels:

  • Top number (systolic pressure) of 130 or more
  • Bottom number (diastolic pressure) of 80 or more

If you have diabetes, heart problems, or a history of a stroke, medicines may be started at lower blood pressure reading. The most commonly used blood pressure targets for people with these medical problems are below 120 to 130/80 mm Hg.

There are many different medicines to treat high blood pressure.

  • Often, a single blood pressure drug may not be enough to control your blood pressure, and you may need to take two or more drugs.
  • It is very important that you take the medicines prescribed to you.
  • If you have side effects, your doctor can substitute a different medicine.

Outlook (Prognosis)

Most of the time, high blood pressure can be controlled with medicine and lifestyle changes.

When blood pressure is not well-controlled, you are at risk for:

When to Contact a Medical Professional

If you have high blood pressure, you will have regular checkups with your provider.

Even if you have not been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it is important to have your blood pressure checked during your regular check-up, especially if someone in your family has or had high blood pressure.

Contact your provider right away if home monitoring shows that your blood pressure is still high.

Prevention

Most people can prevent high blood pressure from occurring by following lifestyle changes designed to bring blood pressure down.

Gallery

Tracking your blood pressure at home
Following your blood pressure at home has gotten a lot easier in the last few years. I'm Dr. Alan Greene. I'd like to share with you a little bit about that. Not too long ago when you wanted to follow your blood pressure at home, you had to have the old fashion sphygmomometer, and the device was a complex as that word sounds. You had to pump something up, and put a stethoscope in your ears, and fumble all these different tubes and even so wouldn't get a very accurate reading. Now, there are simple, high quality, digital blood pressure cuffs. They're easy to use at home. They're built so they snap on the arm very easily, just press a single button, and the chip inside does the work for you. It blows it up, it gives you the reading, and some of the newer models even connect it to your PC and track the readings for you. Now, how accurate are they? They're really pretty good. I wouldn't trust a single reading that much if you get one that's high or low. I wouldn't be either reassured or panicked. But, I would trust the pattern of readings. So, if you have one that tracks it for you, that's great, if not, just write them down what date and time you took it and see what the pattern is over time. If there's anything of concern, be sure to report it to your physician.
Tracking your blood pressure at home
Following your blood pressure at home has gotten a lot easier in the last few years. I'm Dr. Alan Greene. I'd like to share with you a little bit about that. Not too long ago when you wanted to follow your blood pressure at home, you had to have the old fashion sphygmomometer, and the device was a complex as that word sounds. You had to pump something up, and put a stethoscope in your ears, and fumble all these different tubes and even so wouldn't get a very accurate reading. Now, there are simple, high quality, digital blood pressure cuffs. They're easy to use at home. They're built so they snap on the arm very easily, just press a single button, and the chip inside does the work for you. It blows it up, it gives you the reading, and some of the newer models even connect it to your PC and track the readings for you. Now, how accurate are they? They're really pretty good. I wouldn't trust a single reading that much if you get one that's high or low. I wouldn't be either reassured or panicked. But, I would trust the pattern of readings. So, if you have one that tracks it for you, that's great, if not, just write them down what date and time you took it and see what the pattern is over time. If there's anything of concern, be sure to report it to your physician.
Tracking your blood pressure at home
Following your blood pressure at home has gotten a lot easier in the last few years. I'm Dr. Alan Greene. I'd like to share with you a little bit about that. Not too long ago when you wanted to follow your blood pressure at home, you had to have the old fashion sphygmomometer, and the device was a complex as that word sounds. You had to pump something up, and put a stethoscope in your ears, and fumble all these different tubes and even so wouldn't get a very accurate reading. Now, there are simple, high quality, digital blood pressure cuffs. They're easy to use at home. They're built so they snap on the arm very easily, just press a single button, and the chip inside does the work for you. It blows it up, it gives you the reading, and some of the newer models even connect it to your PC and track the readings for you. Now, how accurate are they? They're really pretty good. I wouldn't trust a single reading that much if you get one that's high or low. I wouldn't be either reassured or panicked. But, I would trust the pattern of readings. So, if you have one that tracks it for you, that's great, if not, just write them down what date and time you took it and see what the pattern is over time. If there's anything of concern, be sure to report it to your physician.
DASH diet
A diet that is effective in lowering blood pressure is called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH).

References

American Diabetes Association. 10. Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Management: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2021. Diabetes Care. 2021; 44(Suppl 1):S125-S150. PMID: 33298421 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33298421/.

Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al. 2019 ACC/AHA guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2019;140(11);e596-e646. PMID: 30879355 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30879355/.

Bakris GL, Sorrentino MJ. Systemic hypertension: mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli GF, Bhatt DL, Solomon SD, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 26.

Weber MA, Schiffrin EL, White WB, et al. Clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertension in the community: a statement by the American Society of Hypertension and the International Society of Hypertension. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2014;16(1):14-26. PMID: 24341872 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24341872/.

Whelton PK, Carey RM, Aronow WS, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Hypertension. 2018;71(6):1269-1324. PMID: 29133354. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29133354/.

Xie X, Atkins E, Lv J, et al. Effects of intensive blood pressure lowering on cardiovascular and renal outcomes: updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2016;387(10017):435-443. PMID: 26559744 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26559744/.

Last reviewed February 23, 2022 by Thomas S. Metkus, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team..

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