Today's range of drugs for treating high blood pressure makes it possible for people like my mother and the nearly 50 million other Americans who suffer from high blood pressure to lead normal, healthy lives well into their senior years. Exercise, regular blood pressure checks, healthy eating, maintenance of a healthy body weight, and other lifestyle changes can make a big difference, too. Without these treatments, people with consistently high blood pressure face increased risks for heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. High blood pressure also can cause blood vessels on the eye's retina to clog, eventually bursting and possibly damaging parts of the retina and impairing vision.
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the blood vessel wall.
High blood pressure occurs when there is increased tension or pressure in the arteries. The greater the pressure, the harder the heart has to work. Blood pressure is measured with a device called a sphygmomanometer, which can be either manual or electronic. The first number is the systolic pressure, which is the point at which the heart contracts to push the blood out to the rest of the body. When blood pressure is taken manually, this is the number at which a person taking the blood pressure first hears a pulse through the stethoscope.