Your heart is then forced to work harder to pump that 5 ounces of blood. Over a long period, the heart enlarges and the blood vessels to the brain and kidneys become damaged. This combination of heart enlargement and damaged blood vessels greatly increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. It can strike anyone, regardless of age, sex, race, economic status, or background. However, your chances of developing high blood pressure increase if you have a family history of hypertension or you are African American, a man over age 35, a woman past menopause, overweight, or are sensitive to salt.
Women have some special risks.
Birth control pills can cause high blood pressure in certain women. If you are a woman with a strong family history of high blood pressure, ask your doctor to take your blood pressure before prescribing birth control pills, and then have it checked every 6 months as long as you take them. These two numbers tell much about how hard your heart is working and the condition of your blood vessels. The more difficult it is for blood to flow through your arteries, the higher the systolic and the diastolic readings will be. Your blood pressure changes constantly to adjust your circulation to your activities.