January 3, 2024- High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a critical, nationwide issue. Nearly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, according to the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA). Hypertension occurs when the force of blood flowing through an individual’s blood vessels is consistently too high. If left untreated, the condition can cause heart disease, stroke, and other serious health complications.
Guidelines from the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology outline four blood pressure (BP) categories that are based on the average of two or more in-office BP readings for a patient. These include normal BP (less than 120 mm Hg systolic BP (SBP) and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic (DBP), elevated (120-129 mm Hg SBP and less than 80 mm DBP), stage 1 hypertension (130-139 mm Hg SBP or 80-89 mm Hg DBP), and stage 2 hypertension (greater than 140 mm Hg SBP or less than 90 mm Hg DBP). High BP is typically symptomless and can quietly damage blood vessels, leading to severe health issues including heart failure, stroke, peripheral artery disease (PAD), abdominal, aortic aneurysm, CVD incidence and angina, myocardial infraction, and more.
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