Hypertension, also called high blood pressure, is a health condition when your blood pressure is consistently too high.
Throughout your body, your blood moves through small tubes called blood vessels. Blood pressure is a measurement of the force of your blood pushing against those blood vessel walls. When your blood pressure is consistently above healthy levels, that means you have high blood pressure.
High blood pressure can increase your risk for a lot of different health conditions, including:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Kidney disease
- Cognitive problems like dementia and Alzheimer’s
- Problems seeing
Talk to your doctor if you think you may have high blood pressure. They can help you get checked out.
When your blood pressure is high over time, that makes your risk for heart disease climb.