The risk of heart disease and stroke and high blood pressure, or hypertension, are intimately connected.
Hypertension is common.
This is possibly due to the side effects of anti-hypertensive drugs. Hg then your GP is going to want to start treating you. The normal level has been established at the level at which intervention has been shown to reduce the risks associated with high blood pressure. No-one should make a diagnosis of high blood pressure on a single reading. You should be asked to come back at least 3 times, preferably at intervals of a few days, and your blood pressure measured while you are sitting and lying down, before you are diagnosed as having high blood pressure.