High Blood Pressure

Also called: HBP, HTN, Hypertension

Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Each time your heart beats, it pumps out blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure is highest when your heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When your heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is the diastolic pressure.

Your blood pressure reading uses these two numbers, the systolic and diastolic pressures. Usually they are written one above or before the other. A reading of

• 120/80 or lower is normal blood pressure
• 140/90 or higher is high blood pressure
• 120 and 139 for the top number, or between 80 and 89 for the bottom number is prehypertension

High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but it can cause serious problems such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure. You can control high blood pressure through healthy lifestyle habits and taking medicines, if needed.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• High Blood Pressure(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

  Also available in Spanish

• High Blood Pressure: Things You Can Do to Help Lower Yours(American Academy of Family Physicians)

  Also available in Spanish

• Hypertension(Patient Education Institute)

  Also available in Spanish

Basics	Learn More	Multimedia & Cool Tools
Overviews Latest News Diagnosis/Symptoms Prevention/Screening	Nutrition Disease Management Specific Conditions Related Issues	Pictures & Photographs Health Check Tools Tutorials Videos
Research	Reference Shelf	For You
Clinical Trials Research Journal Articles	Dictionaries/Glossaries Organizations Statistics	MedlinePlus Magazine Children Teenagers Women Seniors

• Overviews
  • High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)(Food and Drug Administration)

    Also available in Spanish

  • JAMA Patient Page: Hypertension(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF

    Also available in Spanish

  • Your Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - Large PDF file
  • Your Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Latest News
  • Pay-for-Performance Doesn't Shortchange Patients(06/03/2009, HealthDay)
  • Sicker High Blood Pressure Patients May Get Best Care(06/01/2009, American Heart Association)
  • Viral Infection Might Trigger High Blood Pressure(05/15/2009, HealthDay)
  • Genes Yield Clues to High Blood Pressure(05/12/2009, HealthDay)
  • May is High Blood Pressure Education Month(05/11/2009, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  • Researchers Uncover Genetic Clues to Blood Pressure(05/10/2009, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
  • Most Americans Should Consume Less Sodium (1,500 mg/Day or Less)(03/27/2009, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  • More News on High Blood Pressure
• Diagnosis/Symptoms
  • Arterial Catheterization(American Thoracic Society)
  • High Blood Pressure Detection(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Prevention/Screening
  • Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure: Mission Possible(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - Links to PDF

    Also available in Spanish

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• Nutrition
  • DASH Diet: Avoid Hidden Dangers When Dining Out(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • DASH Diet: Shopping and Cooking Tips for Healthy Eating(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Make Healthy Food Choices(American Heart Association)
  • Shake Your Salt Habit(American Heart Association)
  • Your Guide To Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASH(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - Large PDF file
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• Disease Management
  • Exercise: A Drug-Free Approach to Lowering High Blood Pressure(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Get the Most Out of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • High Blood Pressure: Using an Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor(American Academy of Family Physicians)

    Also available in Spanish

  • Move to Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure: Mission Possible(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - Links to PDF

    Also available in Spanish

  • Ten Ways to Control Your High Blood Pressure(American Heart Association)
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• Specific Conditions
  • Hypertensive Crisis: What Are the Symptoms?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Secondary Hypertension(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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• Related Issues
  • Cold and Flu Medication for People with High Blood Pressure(American Heart Association)
  • High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

    Also available in Spanish

  • High Blood Pressure and Sex: Overcome the Challenges(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • High Blood Pressure Dangers: Hypertension's Effects on Your Body(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • High Blood Pressure Increases Your Risk for Stroke(American Heart Association)
  • Medications and Supplements That Can Raise Your Blood Pressure(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Prehypertension(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Questions to Ask Your Doctor If You Have High Blood Pressure(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
  • Stress and High Blood Pressure: What's the Connection?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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• Pictures & Photographs
  • Effect of High Blood Pressure on Your Body(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
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• Health Check Tools
  • Test Your High Blood Pressure IQ with This Quiz(American Heart Association)
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• Tutorials
  • High Blood Pressure(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
  • Hypertension(Patient Education Institute)

    Also available in Spanish

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• Videos
  • If I Had - Systolic Hypertension and Was Over 55(Insidermedicine)
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• Clinical Trials
  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Hypertension(National Institutes of Health)
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• Research
  • Audio Relaxation Program May Help Lower Blood Pressure in Elderly(American Heart Association)
  • Children Who May Have High Blood Pressure Can Benefit from 24-Hour Blood Pressure Monitoring(American Heart Association)
  • Computer-Based Phone Calls Raise Awareness, Control of Blood Pressure(American Heart Association)
  • Education, Simple Measures Keys to Improving Vets' Hypertension Care(American Heart Association)
  • Healthy Vegetable Oils Associated with Reduced Heart Attack Risk, Lower Blood Pressure(American Heart Association)
  • High Blood Pressure Control Continues to Improve in England(American Heart Association)
  • High Blood Pressure in Kids Linked to Adult Hypertension(American Heart Association)
  • High-Normal Blood Pressure in Young Adults as a Risk for Atherosclerosis Later in Life(American College of Physicians) - Links to PDF
  • Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)(National Institutes of Health) - Links to PDF
  • Low Birth Weight Linked to Salt Sensitivity, Blood Pressure and Kidney Issues(American Heart Association)
  • More Americans Have, Get Treated for High Blood Pressure(American Heart Association)
  • Poor Teen Sleep Habits May Raise Blood Pressure, Lead to CVD(American Heart Association)
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• Journal Articles

  References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

  • Article: I'm 66 and I've been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I've had...
  • Article: Diabetics need blood pressure and kidney function control. Hypertension and...
  • Article: Hypertension and intra-operative incidents: a multicentre study of 125,000 surgical...
  • High Blood Pressure -- see more articles
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• Dictionaries/Glossaries
  • Hypertension Glossary(Cleveland Clinic Foundation)
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• Organizations
  • American Heart Association
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
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• Statistics
  • FastStats: Hypertension(National Center for Health Statistics)
  • High Blood Pressure(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

    Also available in Spanish

  • High Blood Pressure Facts(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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• MedlinePlus Magazine
  • Control Blood Pressure, Protect Your Kidneys
  • Hypertension--Listen to Your Heart
  • Pressure Points: Preventing and Controlling Hypertension
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• Children
  • High Blood Pressure in Children(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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• Teenagers
  • Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)(Nemours Foundation)
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• Women
  • About High Blood Pressure: A Special Message for Women(American Heart Association)

    Also available in Spanish

  • Menopause and High Blood Pressure: What's the Connection?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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• Seniors
  • High Blood Pressure(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
  • High Blood Pressure(National Institute on Aging)

    Also available in Spanish

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• Related Topics

  • High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy
  • Low Blood Pressure
  • Blood, Heart and Circulation
  • Seniors
  
  

• National Institutes of Health

  • The primary NIH organization for research on High Blood Pressure is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

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