Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure and is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of blood flow obstruction in your arteries. Healthy arteries are elastic and can stretch to allow more blood to push through them. However, the artery walls can constrict and become stiff leading to high blood pressure. When do you have hypertension? When your blood pressure is consistently too high (higher than 140/90 mmHg for three or more separate readings). It's as simple as that.^1,2

More than 90% of adults with hypertension have what is called primary hypertension. Primary (or essential) hypertension has no identifiable cause and tends to develop gradually over the course of years. The remaining cases of high blood pressures are due to a known condition that affects the kidneys, arteries, heart, or endocrine system (secondary hypertension).³

A perfect nickname for hypertension is “silent killer”. The high blood flow stresses your blood vessels and leads to serious health problems. Some people with hypertension may have headaches, shortness of breath, or nosebleeds, but these signs and symptoms are not specific for hypertension and are not likely to occur until hypertension has reached a severe or life-threatening stage. In some cases, even if blood pressure has reached dangerously high levels, hypertension can be present for years without any symptoms!²

Discover what your blood pressure numbers mean and which number is more important.²