High blood pressure is medically known as hypertension. This means that your blood pressure is consistently too high and your heart must work harder to pump blood around your body. High blood pressure can have serious consequences if untreated. Your arteries are stretchy to cope with your blood pressure going up and down, however, if you have high blood pressure your arteries become stiffer. This makes it easier for fatty material (atheroma) to clog them up.
There are also lots of people with undiagnosed Hypertension and it is important that we try and identify these people. This is especially important as often you are not aware your blood pressure is raised. Untreated raised blood pressure leads to other issues.
Hypertension increases the risk of conditions such as:
- Heart attack
- Strokes
- Heart Failure
- Kidney damage
- Angina
- Vision loss
- Memory problems (dementia)
For more information on Hypertension visit the NHS website
Checking your Blood Pressure
The only way of knowing if you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure check. The ideal blood pressure is usually considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg, while the target for people over the age of 80 years old is below 150/90mmHg (or 145/85mmHg if it was taken at home)
All adults over 40 years old are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every 5 years.
You can check your blood pressure in a number of places including:
- At most Pharmacies, use this link to find the closest pharmacy
- At your GP practice
- As part of your NHS health check Find more information about NHS health checks here
You can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor. Find more guidance on how to take your blood pressure at home.
How you can help to reduce your risk
It’s not always clear what causes high blood pressure, but there are things that you can do to decrease your risk of getting Hypertension. These include;
- Loosing weight if you are overweight
- By increasing the amount of Fruits and Vegetables you eat and eating less salt
- Exercise regularly
- Reduce how much coffee and Alcohol you drink
- Stop smoking
- Reduce your stress levels
Community Support
The following services are available to you to help with reducing your risk of High Blood Pressure