High blood pressure increases the risk of certain health problems such as stroke, heart attacks, and kidney failure. Hypertension can result from one of several causes, including heredity, diabetes, obesity, inactivity, excessive alcohol intake, and poor dietary habits. Sometimes the cause is not known. How it is diagnosed A diagnosis of hypertension is made according to one of two figures that are recorded when blood pressure is measured. These include the systolic value, the pressure of blood on the vessels when the heart contracts upon each beat, and the diastolic value, the pressure when the heart relaxes between beats.
Blood pressure is recorded as the systolic pressure over the diastolic pressure.
High blood pressure is considered present when at least one of these two values exceeds certain levels. Because high blood pressure cannot be diagnosed with just one reading, several measurements should be taken to confirm the initial values. Though many people may suffer from chronic high blood pressure, elevated blood pressure may also occur on a temporary basis, depending upon time of day or physical activity. Situations that cause stress may also cause blood pressure to rise briefly. Afterwards, however, their blood pressure may return to normal levels.