High blood pressure can damage blood vessels in various parts of your body. The longer high blood pressure is left untreated, the more likely organs such as your heart, brain, kidneys or eyes will be damaged. Such damage can lead to heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure or eye problems. The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have it measured. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms.
Many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing it.
It's dangerous-by the time people know they have it, their body organs may already have been damaged, maybe severely. High blood pressure often occurs earlier in life in blacks than in whites. So it's important for young people to have regular blood pressure check-ups. Certain factors increase your chance to develop high blood pressure. Heredity - A tendency to have high blood pressure runs in families.