What is high blood pressure?

Around 13.5 million people have high blood pressure in the UK.¹ The British Heart Foundation’s video below explains what is meant by high blood pressure. You might also hear high blood pressure being called hypertension.

High blood pressure puts extra strain on blood vessels, the heart and other organs such as the brain, kidneys and eyes. It can increase your chances of getting other very serious health conditions including:

• Heart disease
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Heart failure
• Peripheral arterial disease
• Aortic aneurysm
• Kidney disease
• Vascular dementia.²

There are usually no symptoms linked with high blood pressure. Most people will find out they have high blood pressure after having a blood pressure check with a pharmacist or GP.

Between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.

140/90 mmHg or higher.³

Treatment for high blood pressure involves lifestyle changes or medication.

Some examples of lifestyle changes are:

• Having a healthy diet, including cutting back on the amount of salt you eat
• Drinking less alcohol
• Losing weight if you’re overweight
• Cutting down on caffeine
• Stopping or cutting back on smoking.²

Medication to treat high blood pressure will usually be tablets you take once a day.² The NHS website and NICE have a full list of specific medications.

Reviewed by: Mital Thakrar

Review date: March 2022

Next review: March 2025