HEART HEALTH
Hypertension
What is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the force that your blood puts on your arteries as it flows through your body. We measure your blood pressure with two numbers: your systolic pressure is the top number and your diastolic pressure is the bottom number.
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Normal or low risk blood pressure
Less than 120/80
Medium risk/high normal blood pressure
121-134/81-84
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High risk blood pressure
More than 135/85
Your doctor may have different blood pressure targets for you based on your age and medical conditions.
What is Hypertension?
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. When you have high blood pressure, it means that the blood pumping through your body is putting too much pressure on your arteries, which can cause long term damage and lead to other health problems.
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Having high blood pressure increases your chances of having a stroke or heart attack. It can also cause damage to other organs such as your eyes and kidneys, or even your brain. Some types of dementia can be caused by high blood pressure.
What can I do?
Some people are at more risk of developing hypertension. There are risk factors that you can't change (nonmodifiable risk factors) such as your genetics, race and sex. There are also, however, several risk factors that you CAN change (modifiable) to decrease your risk of hypertension.
Modifiable risk factors:
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Obesity
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Diet
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Physical activity level
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Smoking
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Alcohol consumption
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Stress levels
*See the handout from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada at the bottom of the page for tips and tricks on how to improve your modifiable risk factors.
Treatment
The best thing you can do for your health and blood pressure is to try and change your modifiable risk factors. If your blood pressure remains high, your doctor may recommend that you start medication to control your hypertension. If you have stubborn hypertension you may have to take two or more medications to normalize your blood pressure.
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Patients often feel frustrated when they have to start medication for this condition because they don't feel any different. It is important to take the medication your doctor prescribes you to prevent damage to your arteries and organs, and to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Checking Your Blood Pressure At Home
Your doctor may ask you to check your blood pressure at home and document your readings. In most cases, you should only check your blood pressure once a day. You should check your blood pressure when you are rested and comfortable. You should be sitting upright with your legs uncrossed. You should avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco for 30 minutes before taking your blood pressure.
You may be tempted to take your blood pressure over and over again if one of your readings is high. This is not a good idea because it causes stress which can lead to falsely elevated blood pressure readings.
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Follow your doctor's recommendations on home blood pressure monitoring.