About High Blood Pressure

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You know you have high blood pressure.

What you might not know is how serious it is. If your blood pressure is 140/90 mm Hg or higher, you're at risk.¹

You can manage high blood pressure, but you should understand what blood pressure is, and how it affects you.

Your heart pumps gallons of blood through your blood vessels every day. Blood pressure is created by the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as it circulates, and the force of the arteries as they resist blood flow. If your blood vessels are narrow, it's harder for blood to flow through them, and the pressure against the walls of your vessels increases. This can cause high blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too great, it may lead to serious health consequences.²

What do your numbers mean?

Although you may know your blood pressure reading, you may not know what it represents.

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and is stated in terms of "systolic" over "diastolic." The top number of your blood pressure (systolic) measures the pressure against the walls of your blood vessels when your heart is pumping blood to your organs. The bottom number (diastolic) measures the same pressure when your heart is resting between beats. For most patients, managing the top number is the more important of the two. Depending on your age, your top blood pressure number can be a stronger indicator for your risk for serious health effects.¹

Questions For Your Doctor

Track Your Blood Pressure

Remembering to
Take Your Medication

What is a normal blood pressure reading?

Medical guidelines state that a normal blood pressure for most adults is less than 120/80 mm Hg.¹ However, you should talk to your doctor about establishing a blood pressure goal that's right for you.

Is high blood pressure a serious condition?

An estimated 72 million Americans (that's nearly 1 in 3 adults) have high blood pressure,³ and approximately 33% of them are not aware of it.⁴

You should be aware that unmanaged high blood pressure could put you at risk for serious medical conditions, such as heart attack or stroke.¹ In fact, according to the most recent blood pressure guidelines:

For individuals aged 40 to 70 years, each 20/10 mm Hg increase in blood pressure doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease, beginning at a blood pressure of 115/75 mm Hg.¹

Chart showing how risk increases as blood pressure rises.

What factors play a role in my blood pressure numbers?

There are several risk factors associated with high blood pressure that cannot be controlled, many of which are inherited. These risk factors include:

Age

It is likely that your blood pressure will increase with age. For men, the risk begins to rise significantly at the age of 55. For women, the risk escalates at age 60.¹

Gender

Men are more likely to have high blood pressure than women—until a woman reaches menopause. Women tend to ultimately have the same risk of cardiovascular disease as men, but generally develop it 10 years later. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.³

Race

Studies show that there is a greater incidence of high blood pressure among people of African descent.

While you can't control the risk factors listed above, there are some risk factors for high blood pressure that can be modified by healthy lifestyle changes.

If you feel lifestyle changes alone may not be enough, request our free information kit to see how you can save up to $240 on Diovan or Diovan HCT. Then talk to your doctor to see if Diovan is right for you.

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¹ Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, et. al, and the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Coordinating Committee. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure - JNC 7 Complete Version. Hypertension. Dec 2003
² National Institutes of Health and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASH. Revised April 2006
³ Rosamond W, Flegal K, Friday G, et al. for the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2007 update. A report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Subcommittee. Circulation. 2007
⁴ Ong KL, Cheung BMY, Man YB, et al. Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among United States adults 1999-2004. Hypertension. 2007


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