During most visits to your physicians, your blood pressure will be checked. It is the measure of force that is generated by the heart as it pumps blood through the body's arterial system. The first number is the systolic blood pressure representing the amount of force the heart uses to initially fill the blood vessel circuit. The diastolic blood pressure is the second number which shows the measure of resistance to the force. These two numbers show how hard the heart is working as it moves blood through the body.
Hypertension is high blood pressure.
This is when the readings consistently are above 140 over 90 mm Hg. This diagnosis is based on an average of at least three readings. Hypertension causes stress on the body which can lead to heart disease, hardening of the arteries, and kidney damage. High blood pressure often is called the silent killer because there may be no symptoms. Some people may not even know they have high blood pressure until they have a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure.