Blood pressure and hypertension explained

Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries. Your arteries are the vessels (tubes) that carry blood from your heart to your brain and the rest of your body. You need a certain amount of pressure to get the blood moving around your body.

Your blood pressure naturally goes up and down throughout the day and night, and it’s normal for it to go up while you’re moving about. It’s when your overall blood pressure is always high, even when you are resting, that you need to do something about it.

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers:

• Systolic pressure: this is the higher of the two numbers. It’s the pressure against your arteries when your heart is pumping blood around your body.
• Diastolic pressure: this is the lower of the two numbers. It shows how much pressure is in your arteries when your heart relaxes between beats.

High blood pressure significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms.

Regardless, high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, stroke or a heart attack. Therefore, it’s important you get your blood pressure checked regularly.

We have collected few resources to help you manage your Blood pressure and guide how to measure you BP at home, please clikc links below:

• What normal blood pressure readings look like
•  Risks of high blood pressure
• Causes of high blood pressure
• Treating high blood pressure
• How to Lower your Blood Pressure –  6 top tips
• Systolic vs. Diastolic: What the Numbers Mean
• Blood Pressure Variability Throughout the Day
• The Correct Way to Measure Blood Pressure at Home: Step-by-Step Guide
• The Most Common Measurement Mistakes and Their Impact
• Tracking and Understanding Your Blood Pressure Results

Video links

• How to measure your blood pressure at home
• Why is too much salt bad for you?

Find out more:

• The Correct Way to Measure Blood Pressure at Home – IFitCenter
• Heart health questions, information and support – BHF
• Blood pressure test – NHS