One in four people suffer from high blood pressure – here Professor Graham MacGregor chairman of the Blood Pressure Association explains why it pays to know your numbers.
High blood pressure is the world’s biggest killer leading to heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and kidney disease, yet it has no symptoms and unless we are tested – most of us are walking around completely oblivious to the fact we have it.
What is it?
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood as it moves around the body pushing against the sides of the blood vessels – the strength of this push is blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high it puts extra strain on your arteries (and your heart) and this may lead to heart attack and stroke.