Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a serious medical condition where the pressure of blood within the blood vessels is higher than normal. It is often called the "silent killer" as it usually has no symptoms and many people do not know they have it. About one third of US adults have high blood pressure, but only half of them have it under control. Hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death. Blood pressure is measured using two numbers - systolic (top number) which measures pressure when the heart beats, and diastolic (bottom number) which measures pressure when the heart rests between beats.

1. Hypertension
Do you have hypertension?
Know your results because it is a “silent killer”
What isHypertension(HTN)?HTN isalsocalledhighbloodpressure.Highbloodpressure(BP) isthe
pressure of the bloodinyourbloodvesselsishigherthanit shouldbe.HTN sometimeshave signsand
symptomsandsometimesnot.HTN iscalledthe “silentkiller”because itoftenhasnowarningsignsand
symptoms,andmanypeople donotknow theyhave it.About1 of 3 U.S. adultshave highblood
pressure.Onlyabouthalf (52%) of these people have theirbloodpressure undercontrol.HTN increased
the riskfor heartdisease andstroke,2 of the leadingcausesof deathforAmericans.Yourblood
pressure shouldbe checkedregularly.HTN canbe preventedandcontrolled. BPismeasuredusingtwo
numbers.The firstnumberisthe systolicBPandmeasuresthe pressure inyourbloodvesselswhenyour
heartbeats.The secondnumberisthe diastolicBPandit measuresthe pressure inyourbloodvessels
whenyourheartrests betweenbeats.
BLOOD PRESSURE LEVELS
NORMAL SYSTOLIC: LESS THAN 120mmHg
DIASTOLIC: LESS THAN 80mmHg
AT RISK (PREHYPERTENSIVE) SYSTOLIC: 120-139mmHg
DIASTOLIC: 80-89mmHg
HIGH SYSTOLIC: 140mmHg or Higher
DIASTOLIC: 90mmHg or Higher

2. What are the risk factors? Healthconditions,yourlifestyle,yourfamilyhistory,andyourdiet.
Can I preventHTN?Yesby eatinga healthydietconsistingof fruitsandvegetables,maintaininga
healthyweight,gettingenoughphysicalactivity,notsmoking,limitingalcohol use.Whenyouhave HTN
youmust take goodcare of yourself because youdonotwantto cause otherhealthconditions.
For more informationinreference tohypertensionvisitthe CDCwebsite at http://www.cdc.
gov/bloodpressure/index.htm