High Blood Pressure and Stroke
What’s blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. It’s recorded as two numbers — systolic pressure (when the heart muscle contracts) over diastolic pressure (when the heart muscle rests between beats and refills with blood). Normal blood pressure is less than 120/less than 80 mm Hg. Learn more about blood pressure readings or watch an animation about blood pressure.
What’s high blood pressure (hypertension)?
High blood pressure is when blood flows with too much force, putting more pressure on the arteries. This excess pressure stretches the arteries beyond a healthy limit and can cause small tears. The body then kicks into an injury-healing mode to repair the tears with scar tissue. But the scar tissue traps substances that form plaque and can lead to blockages, blood clots, and hardened, weakened arteries.
Several factors can increase your risk of high blood pressure, including family history, age, lack of physical activity, poor diet, social determinants, gender-related risk patterns, obesity and drinking too much alcohol. Learn more about high blood pressure risk factors.
Know the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure, learn how to monitor your blood pressure at home and understand what your numbers mean. Be aware that while cuffless devices such as smartwatches offer convenience, it’s important to be cautious about relying on them for accurate blood pressure readings, as they still need to prove consistent precision and reliability. The most effective approach remains regular home blood pressure monitoring paired with regular interactions with your health care team.
Blood Pressure Categories
| BLOOD PRESSURE CATEGORY | SYSTOLIC mm Hg (top/upper number) | and/or | DIASTOLIC mm Hg (bottom/lower number) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NORMAL | LESS THAN 120 | and | LESS THAN 80 |
| ELEVATED | 120 – 129 | and | LESS THAN 80 |
| STAGE 1 HYPERTENSION (High Blood Pressure) | 130 – 139 | or | 80 – 89 |
| STAGE 2 HYPERTENSION (High Blood Pressure) | 140 OR HIGHER | or | 90 OR HIGHER |
| SEVERE HYPERTENSION (If you don’t have symptoms*, call your health care professional) | HIGHER THAN 180 | and/or | HIGHER THAN 120 |
| HYPERTENSIVE EMERGENCY (If you have any of these symptoms*, call 911) | HIGHER THAN 180 | and/or | HIGHER THAN 120 |
| *symptoms: chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness, weakness, change in vision, or difficulty speaking | |||
Why manage blood pressure?
High blood pressure is called “the silent killer” because it has no apparent symptoms. Many people don’t know they have it, so regularly checking your blood pressure is crucial.
High blood pressure causes damage to the arteries over time. That damage can lead to blockages and blood clots that limit blood supply to vital organs. Without oxygen and nutrients from blood, the tissue dies. High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for stroke, but the good news is that it’s something you can control with the right care and lifestyle changes. Without treatment, high blood pressure can advance and affect other systems, leading to coronary heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, dementia, and chronic kidney disease.
How do you reduce blood pressure?
High blood pressure can be checked, lowered and controlled. Whether your blood pressure is high or normal, you should:
- Maintain or achieve a healthy weight.
- Eat a healthy diet, such as DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), reduce salt intake and increase potassium intake.
- Adopt a moderate physical activity program.
- Manage stress.
- Avoid tobacco smoke.
- Take your medication as prescribed.
- Reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption.
- Get enough sleep.
Recommendations from the 2025 Hypertension Guideline
- Have your blood pressure checked regularly. This includes people in all age groups: children, young adults, adults and older adults. Anyone can develop high blood pressure.
- Working with a team of health care professionals from different specialties can help identify and solve issues such as getting access to medications or other challenges that might make it harder to manage high blood pressure. This kind of team-based care is a proven way to support your unique needs and help you stay on track with your treatment. Members of this multidisciplinary team may include physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, dieticians, community health workers and other health care professionals.
- Starting treatment early can help protect your brain and lower the chances of memory problems or dementia later on.
- If you are overweight or obese, losing just a small about—about 5% or more of your body weight—can make a big difference in lowering or preventing high blood pressure.
