High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Introduction

Conditions & Diseases: Cardiovascular System

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

Introduction

Blood Pressure is a measure of pressure exerted by blood on the walls of arteries as it flows through them. Blood pressure is measured with the help of sphygmomanometer in the units of millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). The blood pressure is indicated as a set of figures such as 120/80 mm Hg, meaning 120 systolic pressure (when the heart is contracting and pumping blood) and 80 is the diastolic pressure (when heart is relaxed and is receiving blood). Maximum pressure in the blood system is during systole and minimum pressure is during diastole (1) & (2).

Blood pressure can be categorized as follows

Category	Systolic (When heart is contracting and pumping blood)		Diastolic (When heart is relaxed and is receiving blood)
Normal	Less than 120	and	Less than 80
Prehypertension	120-139	or	80-89
High Blood Pressure (HBP)
Stage 1	140-159	or	90-99
Stage 2	160-179	or	100-109
Stage 3	180 or over	or	110 or over

One out of three Americans or about 65 million suffer from High Blood Pressure (HBP) or Hypertension and 28 percent or 59 million suffer from Prehypertension. High blood pressure is more prevalent in men then women until the age of 55 years. After menopause, (generally around 50 years) women have a greater risk for developing high blood pressure possibly due to loss of hormones. By the age of 75 years HBP is more common in women then in men (3).

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com

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Page Last Modified:
09/10/2010