Blood pressure is the force against blood vessel walls as the heart pumps blood. When the heart squeezes and pushes blood into the vessels, blood pressure goes up. It comes down when the heart relaxes. Blood pressure changes from minute to minute. It’s affected by activity and rest, body temperature, diet, emotions, posture, and medicines.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is when the force of blood pushing on the blood vessel walls is too high. When someone has high blood pressure:

✅ The heart must pump harder.

✅ The arteries (blood vessels that carry the blood away from the heart) are under greater strain as they carry blood.

After a while, high blood pressure can damage the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. Finding and treating high blood pressure early can help people stay healthy, now and in the future.

The most common type of high blood pressure is called primary hypertension. This means that no other medical problem is found that is causing high blood pressure. Primary hypertension is more common in people who are overweight or obese, and those who have high blood pressure in their family.