High blood pressure
Health and lifestyle FAQs
View our short videos specifically designed to answer all your questions about how your health and lifestyle affect your heart health.
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. It is a common condition that affects your arteries.
When you have high blood pressure, the force of blood pushing through your blood vessels and against your artery walls is too high. This can put strain on your heart because it makes your heart work harder in order to pump blood.
If you are diagnosed with this condition, you may need to make lifestyle changes or take medicine. If left untreated it could increase your risk of developing serious health problems.
Symptoms
It is unlikely that you will have symptoms of high blood pressure unless the condition is at a very serious stage. That’s why it’s important to have your blood pressure checked regularly.
However, if you experience shortness of breath, headaches or nosebleeds, you should speak to a healthcare professional. These could be signs your blood pressure is very high and has been high for a while.
Causes
There are two main types of high blood pressure. Primary hypertension has no known cause and develops gradually over time. Secondary hypertension is caused by an underlying condition, medicines, consuming too much alcohol or illegal drugs. It begins suddenly and usually causes higher blood pressure than primary hypertension.
Risk factors
There are a number of factors that affect your risk of having high blood pressure. These include:
- You have a family history of high blood pressure, as gene abnormalities or mutations passed down from your parents may give you an increased risk.
- You are over the age of 65.
- You are black.
- You are obese.
- You rarely exercise.
- You have diabetes.
- You have metabolic syndrome.
- You drink a lot of alcohol.
- You have a high intake of sodium salt.
- You are stressed.
- You are pregnant.
- You have an underlying health condition.
Diagnosis
This condition can be quickly diagnosed by taking a simple reading with a device called a sphygmomanometer. This provides two numbers representing the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats and when it is at rest.
A reading of 130/80 and over is considered high. High blood pressure is normal for some people, such as athletes, who will typically also have a low pulse.
If you have high blood pressure, we may recommend regular readings and further tests such as a cholesterol screening, ultrasound, or electrocardiogram.
We may also suggest that you wear a 24-hour blood pressure (BP) monitor so that we can check your blood pressure changes over a longer period.
Treatment
The most suitable treatment for your high blood pressure will depend on which type you have and what the causes are.
Treatment for primary hypertension usually lifestyle changes, such as following a ‘heart-healthy’ diet, doing more exercise, quitting smoking and managing your stress. We might also recommend medication if these changes haven’t lowered your blood pressure.
If you have secondary hypertension, we need to treat your underlying condition. Depending on the condition, this might involve specific medication.
Can you prevent high blood pressure?
Some risk factors, like your age, race, or family history, can’t be avoided. However, there are steps you can take to lower your risk, including:
- Adding fruit and vegetables to your diet, making it more ‘heart healthy’.
- Reduce the amount of salt in your food.
- Avoid sugary, processed food and drinks.
- Reduce your weight towards an optimal level.
- Have your blood pressure monitored regularly so you are alerted to high blood pressure earlier, and can make necessary changes.
Book an appointment
If you are over the age of 18, it is recommended that you have your blood pressure checked at least every two years.
However, if you have any concerns, we can help you reach a diagnosis and suggest a treatment plan.
Call London Heart Clinic on 0203 303 0325 to book an appointment.
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