Systolic pressure (top number) indicates the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats and pumps out blood. Diastolic pressure (bottom number) is the reading of the pressure in your arteries between beats of your heart .
Healthy: A healthy blood pressure reading is less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).
Elevated: The systolic number is between 120 and 129 mm Hg, and the diastolic number is less than 80 mm Hg. Doctors usually don’t treat elevated blood pressure with medication. Instead, your doctor may encourage lifestyle changes to help lower your numbers.
Stage 1 hypertension: The systolic number is between 130 and 139 mm Hg, or the diastolic number is between 80 and 89 mm Hg.
Stage 2 hypertension: The systolic number is 140 mm Hg or higher, or the diastolic number is 90 mm Hg or higher.
Hypertensive crisis: The systolic number is over 180 mm Hg, or the diastolic number is over 120 mm Hg. Blood pressure in this range requires urgent medical attention. If any symptoms like chest pain, headache, shortness of breath, or visual changes occur when blood pressure is this high, medical care in the emergency room is needed.
A combination of factors typically play a role in the development of essential hypertension:
Genes: Some people are genetically predisposed to hypertension. This may be from gene mutations or genetic abnormalities inherited from your parents.
Age: Individuals over 65 years old are more at risk for hypertension.
Race: Black non-Hispanic individuals have a higher incidence of hypertension.
Living with obesity: Living with obesity can lead to a few cardiac issues, including hypertension.
High alcohol consumption: Women who habitually have more than one drink per day, and men who have more than two drinks per day, may be at an increased risk for hypertension.
Living a very sedentary lifestyle: lowered levels of fitness have been connected to hypertension.
Living with diabetes and/or metabolic syndrome: Individuals diagnosed with either diabetes or metabolic syndrome are at a higher risk of developing hypertension.
High sodium intake: There’s a small association between daily high sodium intake (more than 1.5g a day) and hypertension.