Blood Pressure Checks

What is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure (also referred to as HBP, or hypertension) is when your blood pressure, the force of blood flowing through your blood vessels, is consistently too high.

If you have high blood pressure, you are not alone:

 Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure. (Many don’t even know they have it.)

• The best way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked.

High blood pressure is a “Silent Killer”:

• Most of the time there are no obvious symptoms.

• Certain physical traits and lifestyle choices can put you at a greater risk for high blood pressure.

• When left untreated, the damage that high blood pressure does to your circulatory system is a significant contributing factor to heart attack, stroke and other health threats.

Preventing and managing HBP:

• It’s best to avoid high blood pressure altogether. Healthy lifestyle choices are a great place to start.

• With proper treatment and management, you can control your blood pressure to help you live a long and healthy life.

For more information, please visit the following:

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Description of High Blood Pressure

American Heart Association: HBP and quality of life

American Heart Association: Changes you can make to manage HBP