High Blood Pressure

Overview

What Is It?

Blood pressure is the amount of force your blood exerts against the walls of your arteries. High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when your blood pressure is elevated over time. Left untreated, it can damage your small blood vessels and organs and lead to heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure and circulatory problems.

Blood pressure is the amount of force your blood exerts against the walls of your arteries. Normal blood pressure effectively and harmlessly pushes the blood from your heart to your body's organs and muscles so they can receive the oxygen and nutrients they need.

Blood pressure is variable—it rises and falls during the day. When blood pressure stays elevated over time, however, it is called high blood pressure or hypertension.

According to the American Heart Association, about 85.7 million Americans have high blood pressure. High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for 410,000 Americans in 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hypertension can occur in both children and adults, but it is more common in adults, particularly African Americans and the elderly. People with other conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease are likely to become hypertensive. In addition, being overweight, drinking alcohol excessively (defined as more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women) and taking oral contraceptives may increase blood pressure.

About half of Americans with high blood pressure are women. More men than women have hypertension, until women reach menopause, when their risk becomes greater than men's. About 30 percent of women have high blood pressure. '

Blood pressure is typically expressed as two numbers, one over the other, and is measured in millimeters of mercury (noted as mm Hg). The first number is the systolic blood pressure, the pressure used when the heart beats. The second number, diastolic blood pressure, is the pressure that exists in the arteries between heartbeats.

Depending on your activities, your blood pressure may increase or decrease throughout the day. If you are not acutely ill, are over 18 years of age and are not taking antihypertensive drugs, a blood pressure reading of less than 120 mm Hg systolic and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic (<120/80) is considered normal.

If your systolic blood pressure is 120 to 129 mm Hg systolic and your diastolic pressure is less than 80 mm Hg, you have elevated blood pressure.

A blood pressure level of 130 to 139 mm Hg systolic or 80 to 89 mm Hg diastolic is considered stage 1 hypertension (high blood pressure). Levels of 140 mm Hg or greater systolic or 90 mm Hg or greater diastolic are classified as stage 2 hypertension. If you have systolic and diastolic readings that fall in two categories, you will be designated with the higher blood pressure category.

These new classifications, released by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association in 2017, reflect growing evidence that the risk of cardiovascular disease progressively increases from normal blood pressure to elevated to stage 1 and 2 hypertension. The new guidelines also include specific instructions for getting accurate blood pressure readings, which involves using proper measuring devices, taking several readings in the health care provider's office and confirming the readings with out-of-office measurements.

If you have cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure or stroke, your health care provider may recommend treating your blood pressure with medication and lifestyle modifications even if you are not diagnosed with hypertension.

The cause of approximately 90 percent to 95 percent of all hypertension isn't known. This type of hypertension is called primary or essential high blood pressure. Secondary hypertension is somewhat different because it represents all of the specific diseases that cause elevated blood pressure. It is important to diagnose this type of hypertension because the treatment differs from primary hypertension. While there is no cure for primary hypertension, it is easily detected and is usually controllable.

Still, many people who suffer from high blood pressure don't know they have it, and people can have high blood pressure for years without knowing they have it. That's why high blood pressure has been called "the silent killer."

Of those with hypertension, only about half have the problem under control, defined as a level below 130/80 mm Hg. Left untreated, hypertension can result in permanent damage to the small blood vessels of the body, which can damage organs such as the heart, brain and kidneys, leading to heart attacks, stroke and kidney failure. It can also cause acute or chronic circulatory problems.

Elevated blood pressure levels significantly increase your risk for coronary heart disease, including heart attack and stroke. Consistent high blood pressure also increases your risk for congestive heart failure and can lead to other problems such as:

• Atherosclerosis: Plaque collects on the walls of hypertension-damaged blood vessels, which can eventually lead to blockages that may result in a stroke or heart attack. Although this plaque builds up for many reasons as you age, high blood pressure hastens the process.
• Eye damage: High pressure in blood vessels can cause tiny hemorrhages in the retina, the light-sensitive membrane in the back of your eye on which images are formed. If this happens, you may lose some of your vision.
• Heart enlargement or failure: There are two types of heart failure. In the first, the walls of the heart are weak and thin as a result of being stretched by increasing amounts of pooling blood in the heart. In the second, commonly seen in people with hypertension, the heart muscle enlarges in response to the higher pressure and increased workload. It becomes so big it begins to close off the ventricular chamber, decreasing the amount of blood that can fill the heart. This is called diastolic dysfunction, because the heart muscle can't relax normally and allow blood to fill the chamber.
• Kidney damage and failure: Hypertension causes arteries going to your kidneys to become constricted, making them less efficient at filtering waste from your body. According to the National Kidney Foundation, high blood pressure caused more than 33,000 new cases of kidney failure in the United States in 2013. African Americans are particularly at risk. Early treatment of hypertension can help prevent kidney damage.

You should have your blood pressure checked whenever you see a health care professional. Because blood pressure can be variable, it should be checked on several days before a high blood pressure diagnosis is made. One elevated blood pressure reading doesn't necessarily mean you have high blood pressure, but it does warrant repeated measurements and means you have to watch your blood pressure carefully.

Dietary and lifestyle changes may help you control high blood pressure. If you have mild hypertension, you may be able to lower your blood pressure by reducing the amount of sodium (salt) in your diet, reducing fat intake, eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy (such as the DASH diet) and reducing alcohol consumption. If you are overweight, losing weight may reduce your blood pressure. Increasing your physical activity, even if you don't lose weight, can also reduce blood pressure.

For some people, lifestyle changes aren't enough to lower blood pressure. Luckily, high blood pressure can be successfully treated with long-term medication.

Commonly prescribed drugs include diuretics, beta blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), direct renin inhibitors (DRIs), calcium channel blockers (CCBs), vasodilators, alpha-beta blockers, central-acting agents and alpha blockers. Because there is no cure for most hypertension cases, treatment generally must be carried out for life to prevent blood pressure from rising again.

Many of these drugs are also available to treat ISH to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

Causes of Hypertension

The 90 percent to 95 percent of hypertension cases in which the cause can't be determined are called essential or primary hypertension cases. Hypertension may also be a symptom of an identified problem (see below) that generally corrects itself when the cause is corrected. This type of high blood pressure is called secondary hypertension.

Possible causes of secondary hypertension include:

• Renal artery stenosis (narrowing of the arteries leading to your kidneys)
• Adrenal gland disease (Cushing's disease) or adrenal tumors
• Kidney disease
• Preeclampsia (hypertension and increased urine protein levels sometimes caused by pregnancy)
• Thyroid disease

Other factors affecting blood pressure include:

• Use of birth control pills
• Psychologic stress
• Severe pain
• Drug or alcohol withdrawal
• Use of amphetamines, cocaine or other stimulants
• Use of steroids
• Overuse of nicotine nasal sprays, gum, patches and lozenges designed to help smokers kick the habit
• Sleep apnea

Your health care professional should monitor your blood pressure if you are taking oral contraceptives. Your blood pressure should also be carefully monitored if you're pregnant, because some women develop preeclampsia-related hypertension during pregnancy. One of the leading causes of maternal death, preeclampsia is hypertension combined with protein in the urine and/or swollen hands and feet. It typically occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy. It can lead to premature and low-birth–weight babies.

Diagnosis

Your health care professional should check your blood pressure at least once every two years, and more often if it's high. A high blood pressure diagnosis is usually based on at least the average of two or more readings per visit, taken at two different visits after an initial screening.

The only way to properly check your blood pressure is to measure it with a device called a sphygmomanometer, commonly called a blood pressure cuff. This is a quick and painless test in which a rubber cuff is wrapped around your upper arm and inflated. As the cuff inflates, it compresses a large artery, stopping the blood's flow through that artery. When your health care professional releases the air in the cuff, he or she can listen with a stethoscope for the blood to start flowing through your artery again. Your health care professional can watch the sphygmomanometer gauge to determine systolic pressure—the pressure when the first sound of pulsing blood is heard—and the diastolic pressure, the pressure when the last sound of pulsing blood is heard.

In November 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association issued new guidelines for classification of high blood pressure—or hypertension. A normal reading, for people not at high risk, is less than 120 mm Hg systolic and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic (<120/80).

If your systolic blood pressure is 120 to 129 mm Hg systolic and your diastolic pressure is less than 80 mm Hg, you have elevated blood pressure.

A blood pressure level of 130 to 139 mm Hg systolic or 80 to 89 mm Hg diastolic is considered stage 1 hypertension, and readings of 140 mm Hg or greater systolic or 90 mm Hg or greater diastolic are stage 2 hypertension. When systolic and diastolic pressures fall into different categories, your health care professional should select the higher category to classify your blood pressure.

These new classifications reflect growing evidence that the risk of cardiovascular disease progressively increases from normal blood pressure to elevated to stage 1 and 2 hypertension.

If you have cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure or stroke, your health care provider may recommend treating your blood pressure with medication and lifestyle modifications even if you are not diagnosed with hypertension.

If you are hypertensive and have begun receiving initial medication therapy, you will probably need to return for follow-up and adjustment of medications once a month until your blood pressure goal is reached. More frequent visits may be necessary for those with stage 2 hypertension.

A small number of people experience "white coat hypertension," which is very elevated blood pressure when visiting their health care professional while blood pressure at home is normal. At home, you can check your blood pressure in a setting that's more comfortable for you to get a more accurate reading.

Home blood pressure monitoring also gives you the opportunity to measure your own blood pressure when your health care professional's office is not open. Inexpensive devices for home blood pressure monitoring are available at most pharmacies. Be sure to have your health care professional check your home blood pressure device when you start using it to make sure it's providing accurate readings.

Also, don't make any changes in your medication based on home blood pressure readings without first consulting your health care professional. Home blood pressure monitoring is an excellent adjunct to monitoring by your health care professional, but should it not be done in lieu of professional monitoring.

In addition to taking blood pressure readings from both arms, your health care professional may conduct the following during a hypertension exam:

• A complete medical history. Make sure you tell your doctor about any alternative medicines you're taking such as herbs, over-the-counter drugs and supplements. The American Heart Association notes that some may be life-threatening when combined with medicines to treat high blood pressure.
• A physical examination. This includes checking your retinas and abdomen, listening to your lungs and heart, taking your pulse in several areas, including your feet, and looking for swelling in your ankles.
• A urinalysis. The urine is tested for elevated protein, sugar, white blood cells or other abnormalities.
• An electrocardiogram. Your health care professional will position a number of small contacts on your arms, legs and chest to connect them to an ECG machine. The results will be analyzed for any abnormalities indicating an enlarged heart or other abnormality.
• A kidney profile. The blood is tested for abnormalities such as elevated creatinine.
• A thyroid profile. The blood is tested for abnormalities such as an elevated level of thyroid hormone, and the thyroid gland is physically felt for enlargement.

Risk Factors for Hypertension

Although there are several risk factors for hypertension, family history is the primary one. High blood pressure tends to run in families.

African Americans and Hispanic Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure than Caucasians. Studies find that having "Type A" qualities—being very driven, being a perfectionist who doesn't cope well with stress or know how to relax and having a quick temper—increases the risk of hypertension in men and may increase the risk for women.

Other risk factors for hypertension include:

• Increasing age
• Salt sensitivity
• Obesity
• Heavy alcohol consumption, defined as more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink a day for women.
• Use of oral contraceptives
• An inactive lifestyle
• Regular smoking or use of smokeless-tobacco, like snuff or chewing tobacco
• High uric acid levels (anything over 7 mg/ml of blood)

Unfortunately, there is no proven method of preventing preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension and no tests to diagnose or predict these conditions. The only way to ensure a safe pregnancy is with regular visits to your health care professional for checks of the level of protein in your urine and your blood pressure.

You also should do everything you can on your own to prevent pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, including regular physical activity and limiting salt intake.

Treatment

There are several drug classes to choose from when selecting a high blood pressure medication, including hundreds of single medications and combinations. Generally, all can lower your blood pressure, but often people respond differently to each drug.

You will probably have to try a few of them before finding the one that works the best for you with the fewest side effects.

The drug classes are:

• Diuretics. Diuretics, which rid the body of excess fluids and salt, are the most frequently used drugs to treat high blood pressure. However, in large doses, some diuretics may deplete the body of potassium, which can lead to irregular heartbeat and reduce your glucose tolerance, which can cause diabetes. There are, however, potassium-sparing diuretics that don't cause this problem.
  
  Overall, diuretics are inexpensive and, in small doses, boost the effectiveness of many other antihypertensive drugs. National guidelines recommend that diuretics alone should be the first agent of choice provided you don't have any other conditions that prohibit their use. Some commonly prescribed drugs in this class include amiloride (Midamar), bumetanide (Bumex), chlorthalidone (Hygroton), chlorothiazide (Diuril), furosemide (Lasix), hydrochlorothiazide (Microzide, Esidrix, Hydrodiuril), metolazone (Mykrox, Zaroxolyn) and indapamide (Lozol).
• Beta-blockers. These drugs reduce your heart rate and blood pressure and therefore your heart's output of blood. You should not be on one of these drugs if you already have a low heart rate, an airway disease such as asthma or peripheral vascular disease.
  
  Beta blockers can also mask hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, so you should use with caution if you have diabetes and take insulin or sulfonylurea drugs.
  
  Common side effects include fatigue, breathlessness, depression and cold hands and feet. Other, milder side effects can include sleep problems and numbness or tingling of the toes, fingers or scalp. On the plus side, beta blockers can reduce your risk for second heart attack, irregular heartbeat, angina and migraines. Some commonly prescribed drugs in this class include atenolol (Tenormin), betaxolol (Kerlone), bisoprolol (Zebeta), carteolol (Cartrol), acebutolol (Sectral), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL), nadolol (Corgard), propranolol (Inderal), sotolol (Betapace) and timolol (Blocadren).
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors). These drugs interfere with the body's production of angiotensin II, a hormone that causes the arteries to constrict. The drugs enable muscles in your arteries to relax so they can open wider.
  
  The most common side effect is a dry, persistent cough. An added benefit of ACE inhibitors is that they slow the rate at which your kidneys deteriorate if you have diabetes-related kidney disease. For people with high blood pressure and diabetes or kidney disease, national guidelines recommend that initial drug treatments include ACE inhibitors. However, you should not be on ACE inhibitors if you are pregnant because they can cause life-threatening complications in the baby. Some commonly prescribed drugs in this class include captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Prinivel, Zestril), benazepril (Lotensin), fosinopril (Monopril), moexipril (Univasc), perindopril (Aceon), ramipril (Altace) and trandolapril (Mavik).
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers. Angiotensin II receptor blockers work similarly to ACE inhibitors to block the hormone angiotensin II, which normally causes blood vessels to narrow. As a result, the blood vessels relax and become wider, causing blood pressure to go down. They're more effective if you also take a diuretic. These drugs do not cause any cough like ACE inhibitors. Some commonly prescribed drugs in this class are candesartan (Atacand), eprosartan (Teveten), irbesarten (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), telmisartan (Micardis) and valsartan (Diovan).
• Calcium channel blockers (calcium antagonists). Calcium channel blockers relax artery muscles and dilate coronary arteries and other arteries by blocking the transport of calcium into these structures, thus lowering blood pressure. There are two classes of calcium blockers—the dihydropyridines and the non-dihydropyridines—which may be used to treat high blood pressure and angina. One dihydropyridine, fast-acting nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia and others), may increase your risk of heart attack when used for acute hypertension; therefore, nifedipine should only be used in the treatment of chronic high blood pressure. It is unclear whether other calcium channel blockers share this risk, so discuss this and other potential risks with your health care professional if you receive a prescription for a calcium channel blocker. Dihydropyridines also may cause ankle swelling, rapid heartbeat and headaches and may make you flush.
• Alpha-blockers. These drugs work by relaxing certain muscles to help small vessels remain open. Alpha blockers work by stopping the hormone norepinephrine from constricting small arteries and veins, which improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure. Alpha blockers may increase your heart rate and can cause you to retain fluid, so they may be combined with diuretics or beta blockers. Other side effects include a drastic drop in blood pressure when you stand up—often seen after only one dose—and headache. However, some studies suggest alpha blockers have added benefits if you have high blood cholesterol levels or glucose intolerance. Some commonly prescribed drugs in this class include doxazosin (Cardura), prazosin (Minipress) and terazosin (Hytrin).
• Alpha-beta blockers. Alpha-beta blockers reduce nerve impulses to blood vessels, thus decreasing vessel constriction, and they slow the heartbeat to reduce the amount of blood that must be pumped through the vessels. They are typically used as an IV drip for patients in hypertensive crisis. They may be prescribed for outpatient high blood pressure treatment if a patient is at risk for heart failure. Alpha-beta blockers include caredilol (Coreg) and labetolol hydrochloride (Normodyne). Potential side effects of alpha-beta blockers include fatigue, decreased sex drive, anxiety and insomnia. More serious side effects include difficulty breathing, depression, feeling faint and swelling of the lips, tongue, throat or face.
• Vasodilators. Vasodilators work to relax the muscles in the walls of the blood vessels, which helps the vessels widen. Some commonly prescribed vasodilators include hydralazine hydrochloride (Apresoline) and minoxidil (Loniten). More serious potential side effects of vasodilators include difficulty breathing; swelling in your face, throat, lips, tongue, feet or hands; and joint pain. Less serious side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and anxiety.
• Central-acting agents (or central agonists). These medications work by preventing your brain from telling your nervous system to increase your heart rate and narrow blood vessels. Some commonly prescribed drugs in this class include alpha methyldopa (Aldomet), clonidine hydrochloride (Catapres), guanabenz acetate (Wytensin) and guanfacine hydrochloride (Tenex). Potential side effects of central agonists include dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting and sleep problems. More serious side effects include allergic reaction, fast, pounding heart rate and confusion.

Prevention

Because we don't know the cause of most cases of high blood pressure, it's hard to say how to prevent it. However, diet and lifestyle changes can be key. You should consider these tips:

• Increase the amount of exercise you get. Regular aerobic physical activity can enhance weight loss and reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease. You can reduce your blood pressure with moderately intense physical activity, such as a 30- to 60-minute brisk walk most days. If you have cardiac or other serious health issues, you should have a thorough medical evaluation, and perhaps have a cardiac stress test, before beginning any exercise program.
• Lose weight. Losing just 10 pounds can help lower your blood pressure. Some obese people also have sleep apnea, in which they stop breathing dozens or hundreds of time a night, snore loudly and suffer from daytime sleepiness. Sleep apnea is linked with high blood pressure.
• Reduce alcohol consumption. Most men with high blood pressure shouldn't drink more than two drinks per day, and women shouldn't have more than one alcoholic drink per day. A drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or one and a half ounces of 80-proof liquor.
• Reduce stress. When you relax, your heart rate slows, which reduces the amount of oxygen your body needs, reducing your pressure.
• Quit smoking. Even more than lowering your blood pressure per se, it will reduce your overall cardiovascular disease risk more than any other single move.
• Reduce your sodium intake. Salt can cause fluid retention so don't add salt to foods. For optimum heart health, the American Heart Association recommends a limit of 1,500 mg of sodium per day. Because the average sodium intake is so excessive, even cutting back to 2,400 mg (the amount contained in about one teaspoon of salt) or less will help improve blood pressure and overall heart health.
  
  To cut down on sodium, steer clear of processed foods (sauces, mixes and "instant" products such as flavored rice, cereals and pasta). Get in the habit of checking labels for sodium content. If one portion has more than 300 mg, choose a lower-salt brand. Eat more vegetables that are fresh, frozen without sauce or canned with no salt. Salt substitutes may work for you, but check with your health care professional because they can be harmful if you have certain medical problems.
• Increase dietary potassium. An analysis of several studies indicates that potassium can reduce blood pressure by combatting the effects of sodium. Bananas are naturally high in potassium, and the mineral can also be purchased in supplement form. According to the American Heart Association, the average adult should aim for 4,700 mg of potassium a day. Increasing potassium intake is not recommend for patients with kidney disease, however. Ask you health care professional before increasing your potassium intake.
• Eat a healthy diet. Aim for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, and low in saturated and total fat.

You can make all of your lifestyle changes at the same time. Studies find the best results come from adopting the DASH diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.

Fish oil (omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) and calcium supplements lower blood pressure only slightly in those with hypertension. Additionally, herbal and botanical supplements, which get very little scrutiny from the FDA, have not been proven to safely lower blood pressure and may, in fact, dangerously interact with some medications.

Finally, if you have high blood pressure, be sure to inform your health care professional about all medicines you are taking, including over-the-counter drugs. It is particularly important that you mention drugs such as steroids; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen; nasal decongestants and other cold remedies; appetite suppressants; cyclosporine; erythropoietin; antidepressants; and monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors.

You should take care when choosing over-the-counter drugs for colds. Many cold remedies contain decongestants that may raise your blood pressure. These medicines can also interfere with your blood pressure drug's effectiveness. Check with your health care professional before taking any over-the-counter drug if you have high blood pressure.

You should take care when choosing over-the-counter drugs for colds. Many cold remedies contain decongestants that may raise your blood pressure. These medicines can also interfere with your blood pressure drug's effectiveness. Check with your health care professional before taking any over-the-counter drug if you have high blood pressure.

Facts to Know

1. About 85.7 million Americans have high blood pressure. It is a contributing factor in an estimated 410,000 deaths per year.
2. More men than women have hypertension until women reach menopause, when a woman's risk becomes greater than a man's.
3. About half of the 80 million Americans with high blood pressure are women, with the incidence becoming greater in women as they get older. About 30 percent of women have high blood pressure, and the risk is higher in older women and African American women.
4. Your blood pressure consists of two numbers—the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure. The higher number, the systolic pressure, represents the pressure while the heart is beating. The lower number, the diastolic pressure, represents the pressure when the heart is resting between beats.
5. Blood pressure can fluctuate with eating, sleeping and changes in posture, but a normal blood pressure reading should be less than 120 mm Hg systolic and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic. Blood pressure between 120–129 mm HG systolic and less than 80 mm HG diastolic is considered elevated. A level of 130 to 139 mm Hg systolic or 80 to 89 mm Hg diastolic is considered stage 1 hypertension (high blood pressure). Levels of 140 mm Hg or greater systolic or 90 mm Hg or greater diastolic are classified as stage 2 hypertension. If you have systolic and diastolic readings that fall in two categories, you will be designated with the higher blood pressure category.
6. If you have elevated blood pressure, you are more likely to develop hypertension in the future and have increased risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other conditions related to hypertension. Your risk for cardiovascular diseases progresses steadily as your blood pressure rises above the normal range.
7. You may also have hypertension if either your systolic or your diastolic pressure is greater than or equal to 130 or 80 mm Hg, respectively. That is, you can have isolated systolic or diastolic hypertension. Isolated systolic hypertension is the most common form of high blood pressure in older Americans. An estimated two out of three people with hypertension over age 60 have ISH.
8. Dietary and lifestyle changes may help you control high blood pressure. If you have mild hypertension, you may be able to lower your blood pressure by reducing the amount of sodium in your diet and cutting back on alcohol consumption. If you are overweight, losing weight will help, as will physical activity.
9. Many people think high blood pressure is the result of lifestyle factors, such as stress, lack of exercise, drinking or smoking, but the cause of approximately 90 percent to 95 percent of all hypertension cases can't be determined.
10. There is no cure for hypertension, but it is easily detected and usually controllable.
11. Many people who suffer from high blood pressure don't know they have it because it usually produces no symptoms. And of those who have hypertension, less than half have the problem under control, defined as a level below 130/80 mm Hg.
12. If left uncontrolled, high blood pressure can have very serious consequences. The condition can lead to stroke, heart attack, hardening of the arteries, congestive heart failure and/or kidney disease. In severe cases, it can lead to blindness.
13. There are several drug classes—and hundreds of individual and combination medications—to choose from when treating high blood pressure. Generally, all can lower your blood pressure, but people often respond very differently to each drug, so you will probably have to try a few of them before finding the one that works best for you.
14. Taking birth control pills has been linked with high blood pressure in women. The combination of birth control pills and smoking may be particularly dangerous. Ask your health care professional to take your blood pressure before you start taking the pill and have it checked every six months or so after you start taking it.
15. If you already have high blood pressure and you get pregnant, your pregnancy could make the condition more severe, especially in the last three months. If it goes untreated, high blood pressure in pregnancy can be dangerous to both mother and baby. Therefore, health care professionals usually closely monitor blood pressure during pregnancy.

Questions to Ask

Review the following Questions to Ask about high blood pressure so you're prepared to discuss this important health issue with your health care professional.

1. What does my blood pressure reading mean? Why are there two numbers and what do they measure?
2. Do I have hypertension (high blood pressure)? Am I at risk for developing it? Why?
3. Am I taking any medicines that could increase my blood pressure? Should I stop taking them?
4. What are the possible consequences of hypertension? How can I limit my risk for hypertension and its complications?
5. What medications are available to help me if I have hypertension? What are their benefits and side effects? Will these drugs interact with any other medications I am taking?
6. What if I don't like or can't tolerate the side effects of my medication? Is it possible for me to switch to another one?
7. My blood pressure is high, but I don't feel uncomfortable at all. Why not? Does this mean that my hypertension is not really harmful to me?
8. I would never know I had hypertension except for the blood pressure readings. Should I keep taking my medication? Why?
9. My blood pressure is only slightly above normal. Do I really have to do anything about it?
10. Is there a cure for hypertension?
11. How often should I have my blood pressure checked?
12. Is it possible for me to lower my blood pressure by losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle? Is it possible for me eventually to lower it enough to stop taking medication?

Key Q&A

Organizations and Support

For information and support on coping with Heart Disease, please see the recommended organizations, books and Spanish-language resources listed below.

American College of Cardiology (ACC)
Website: https://www.acc.org
Address: Heart House
2400 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Hotline: 1-800-253-4636
Phone: 202-375-6000
Email: resource@acc.org

American Heart Association (AHA)
Website: https://www.americanheart.org
Address: 7272 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75231
Hotline: 1-800-AHA-USA-1 (1-800-242-8721)
Email: Review.personal.info@heart.org

Medivizor
Website: https://medivizor.com

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) - NHLBI Health Information Center
Website: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
Address: Attention: Website
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824
Phone: 301-592-8573
Email: nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.gov

Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Website: https://www.phassociation.org
Address: 801 Roeder Road, Suite 400
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Hotline: 1-800-748-7274
Phone: 301-565-3004
Email: adrienne@phassociation.org

WomenHeart: National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
Website: https://www.womenheart.org
Address: 818 18th Street, NW, Suite 930
Washington, DC 20006
Hotline: 1-877-771-0030
Phone: 202-728-7199
Email: mail@womenheart.org

Women's Health Initiative (WHI)
Website: https://www.whi.org/
Address: Clinical Coordinating Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Ave N, M3-A410
PO Box 19024
Seattle, WA 98109-1024
Phone: 800-218-8415
Email: helpdesk@whi.org

Books

Good News About High Blood Pressure: Everything You Need to Take Control of Hypertension...and Your Life
by Thomas Pickering

Healing Hypertension: Uncovering the Secret Power of Your Hidden Emotions
by Alan Rees

Heart of the Matter: The African American's Guide to Heart Disease, Heart Treatment, and Heart Wellness
by Hilton M. Hudson, Herbert Stern PhD

High Blood Pressure: Practical, Medical, & Spiritual Guidelines for Daily Living With Hypertension
by Mark Jenkins

High Blood Pressure: The Black Man and Woman's Guide to Living with Hypertension
by Hilton M. Hudson II MD FACS, James R. Reed

Mayo Clinic on High Blood Pressure
by Sheldon Sheps M.D.

Spanish-language resources

MedlinePlus: Hypertension
Website: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/ency/article/000468.htm
Address: Customer Service
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Email: custserv@nlm.nih.gov