Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
How does it impact you?

When you go to your doctor's office these days, they will routinely check your blood pressure (BP). (Click Here to determine whether the measurement was performed correctly!) Blood pressure is the force that blood exerts on the walls of blood vessels. It is expressed using two numbers (example: 120/80, read as "120 over 80"). The first number is the systolic blood pressure in mm of mercury (Hg) - this is the highest pressure that blood exerts, and it happens when the heart pushes the blood out into the arteries. The second number is the diastolic pressure in the same units - the pressure when the heart rests, in between beats.

Many years of research show that increasing blood pressure increases the risk of many diseases. Cardio-vascular disease (including heart disease and stroke) and kidney problems (to mention a few) all exhibit higher risk in individuals with higher BP. In this series of articles we will examine the magnitude of the increase in risk with increasing blood pressure, and consider the appropriateness of lifestyle modifications and medication.

In this review, we utilize information in the following papers:
1. Impact of High-Normal BP on the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease - New England Journal of Medicine, v 345, p 1291 (2001)
2. Risks of Untreated and Treated Isolated Systolic Hypertension in The Elderly: Meta-Analysis of Outcome Trials, The Lancet v 355, p 865 (2000).
3. Age specific Relevance of Usual BP to Vascular Mortality... The Lancet, v 360, p 1903 (2002).