Understanding Blood Pressure

What is hypertension?

Blood pressure is among the most common cardiovascular issues people suffer today. Blood pressure is defined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount in which your arteries resist the blood flow.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a very common condition, where the long-term force of the blood against your vessels is high enough to cause some health problems like heart disease. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and has two numbers.

How to measure blood pressure  

The first and upper number is your systolic pressure, which measures the pressure in your arteries while your heart beats. The bottom and lower number is your diastolic pressure, which measures the pressure in your arteries between heartbeats. Normal blood pressure limits are 120 mm/Hg for systolic and 80 mm/Hg for diastolic pressure The higher your blood pressure, the higher your risk of cardiovascular events. 

High blood pressure symptoms

Mostly, people do not experience any symptoms with high pressure; however, some symptoms may include headaches, shortness of breath, or nosebleeds. Also, hypertension is among numerous risk factors for cardiovascular disease and a significant component of atherosclerosis (thickening and hardening of the blood vessels). By doing genetic tests, you can discover your risk of suffering from hypertension which we offer in our Cardiovascular DNA Health Kit