Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against your blood vessel walls. When you have high blood pressure, the pressure in your arteries is elevated. About 50 million Americans and 1 in 4 adults have high blood pressure. When untreated, it can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, so it is often called the "silent killer." The only way to tell if you have high blood pressure is to get it checked regularly. The Red Cross checks your blood pressure before every donation!

How can high blood pressure be treated?

  • Lose weight if you're overweight
  • Eat healthy meals low in saturated fat, cholesterol and salt
  • Limit alcohol to no more than one drink per day for women or two drinks a day for men
  • Be more physically active
  • Take medicine the way your doctor tells you
  • Know what your blood pressure should be and work to keep it at that level
  • Talk to your doctor about taking medication

Who is at higher risk?

  • People with relatives that have high blood pressure
  • African Americans
  • People over the age of 35
  • Overweight people
  • People who aren't physically active
  • People who use too much salt
  • People who drink too much alcohol
  • People with diabetes, gout and kidney disease
  • Pregnant women
  • Women who take birth control pills who are overweight, had high blood pressure during pregnancy, have a family history of high blood pressure or have mild kidney disease