Heart Disease

Blood pressure is expressed as a pair of values: 140/90 or "140 over 90". This is because the pressure that blood exerts on your arteries is not always the same. The highest pressure is reached when your heart is pumping. In between beats, when your heart is resting, the pressure falls to its lowest level.

Both the highest and the lowest pressures in your arteries are important, so a blood pressure always has two components. Doctors call the larger number the "systolic (sis-TAHL-ic) pressure" and the smaller number, the "diastolic (DIA-stahl-ic) pressure". Normal, healthy blood pressure is below 140/90.

When blood pressure becomes too high and stays that way, over time it can damage the arteries and the body's delicate internal organs, such as the kidneys, heart, brain, or parts of the eye. High blood pressure also makes the heart work harder and may eventually change it.

High blood pressure (the medical term is "hypertension") does some of its damage by causing roughness in the usually glass-smooth lining of the arteries. When this happens, it is easier for fats and cholesterol to enter the artery walls, ultimately blocking them.

Having high blood pressure, or hypertension, does not mean that you are sick. But it does mean you have a condition that can make you sick if you do not take charge of it. Untreated high blood pressure means extra risk for a heart attack or stroke.

The right treatment for you may very well be different from the right treatment for someone else. Some people can control their high blood pressure just by changing the way they eat and exercise. One of your friends with hypertension, for instance, may need only to lose weight and cut back on salt intake.

Although lifestyle changes are important in treatment, for many patients that is not enough. Your doctor has decided that you also need medication.

In the following pages, you will learn what you can do to take control of your blood pressure — and keep it under control.