You can reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke by keeping your blood pressure controlled, ideally to a level of 119/79 or lower.

What is hypertension?
Blood pressure is the force or pressure of blood against your artery walls. When you have high blood pressure, your heart has to work harder than it needs to send blood throughout your body. Hypertension is another word for high blood pressure.

Why is it important to know your blood pressure number?
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms. The only way you know if you have high blood pressure is to check it. It is important to know your number because having hypertension increases your chance of having a heart attack or stroke. The good news is lowering your blood pressure significantly reduces your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, and several other serious health problems.

To learn more, visit hypertension

Definitions of Blood Pressure Ranges

The top number (119/79) of your blood pressure measurement represents the systolic pressure. This is the force of blood against your arteries when your heart is sending blood to your body. The lower number (119/79) is the diastolic pressure. This is the force of blood against your arteries while your heart relaxes between beats. Both numbers are important.

Normal: 119/79 or lower
Prehypertension: 120-139/80-89
Hypertension: 140/90 or higher

For blood pressure of 120-139/80-89 lifestyle changes are a good idea to prevent or delay developing hypertension. The likelihood of high blood pressure increases as people age.

When is Your Doctor Likely to Recommend Medication?
Controlling your blood pressure decreases your chance of having a heart attack or stroke.

Who	Reading (systolic/diastolic)	Talk with your physician
If you have Diabetes or Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)	130/80 or higher	Your Blood Pressure is above goal. Your physician may prescribe medication.
For Everybody	140/90 or higher	You have hypertension. Your physician may prescribe medication.

Have your blood pressure checked at least once a year - more often if you have hypertension.

What can you do?
There are several ways to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

• Take Hypertension Medications as prescribed.

Lifestyle choices

• Quit tobacco use.
• Lose weight, if you are overweight.
• Get regular physical activity.
• Reduce your Stress.
• Make healthy food choices, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and foods that are low in fat and salt(sodium).

To learn about how to decrease your chance of having a heart attack or stroke visit PHASE: Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes Everyday

To learn more and to find available resources at Kaiser Permanente visit our Healthy Living website.

For additional information, these links take you to the details

American Heart Association
American Stroke Association