What is high blood pressure?

Blood pressure is a measure of the force that your heart uses to pump blood around your body and it naturally goes up and down. For example; it will go up when you're moving about, at different times of the day and at times of stress such as a job interview or exam.

If your overall blood pressure is always or often high it means your heart has to work harder to pump blood around your body and the blood vessels are under more strain.

Instead of being stretchy, your arteries become stiff or narrow making it easier for fatty material to clog them up. If your arteries get damaged and clogged it can lead to heart attack or stroke.

View the understanding blood pressure video to find out what blood pressure means.

High blood pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) usually has no signs or symptoms and if left untreated, can increase your risk of serious problems such as heart attack or stroke. It's often known as the 'silent killer'.

The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked.

If your blood pressure readings are consistently 140 over 90, or higher, over a number of weeks you'll probably have high blood pressure. This can put extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs such as the brain, kidneys and eyes.

Find out more about the effect high blood pressure can have on your body, if you don’t take steps to control it, on the Blood Pressure UK website.

You can find more information about high blood pressure on the NHS website: