High Blood Pressure

The first step in preventing heart and blood vessel disease is understanding the risk factors. High blood pressure is one of those risk factors. Also called hypertension, it usually has no symptoms. Other related risk factors include: smoking, high fat in the blood, diabetes and alcohol consumption. Hypertension tends to be more common and more severe in African Americans. High blood pressure causes the heart to work harder. It increases the risk of developing heart disease including heart failure, as well as kidney disease and stroke (bleeding into the brain). And once developed, it typically lasts a lifetime.

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Health information in this article was obtained from the following sources: National Institute of Health and National Health, Lung, and Blood Institute. Published June 2002. Last updated Last updated February 2006. HIP reviews this article, as all articles in MyHealth, on a quarterly basis.