Plain and simple, blood pressure is the force of the blood against your artery walls. It will normally go up and come back down throughout the day; however, when it stays up (elevated) then it is called high blood pressure (hypertension is the medical term).

No matter what you call it, hypertension is very dangerous for a number of reasons:
1. Often there are no signs or symptoms that you have problem. To find out, you have to have your pressure taken.
2. High blood pressure makes your heart work very hard contributing to hardening of the arteries. The medical term for hardening of the arteries is "atherosclerosis".
3. Hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. These health problems are the first and third leading causes of death among Americans.
4. Other conditions associated with hypertension are: kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and blindness.

Blood pressure is divided into categories (mmHg stands for millimeters of mercury):
Normal blood pressure: less than 120/80 mmHg
Prehypertension blood pressure: between 120/80 mmHg and 139/89 mmHg
Hypertension: 140/90 mmHg and above

If you have prehypertension, that means you don't have high blood pressure yet. This also means that if you do nothing to control your pressure, in the future, you probably will develop high blood pressure. When you are at the prehypertension level, you still have a chance to prevent it by changing your lifestyle. At this point, eating healthy, moderate exercise, losing weight and stress management techniques can help keep your pressure from slipping into dangerous hypertension.

Once you are diagnosed with hypertension (140/90 and above), you can change your lifestyle and, in most cases, control it without medication.

If you are 50 or older, the top number (systolic pressure) is the one that will more accurately diagnose hypertension for you.

But what is systolic blood pressure?
Systolic blood pressure is the pressure against the artery wall as the heart beats. If it is 140 or above, then it is considered high.

Diastolic pressure (the down number) doesn't need to be high for you to have hypertension. When this happens, it is called "isolated systolic hypertension," or ISH.

Is ISH common, I never heard of it?
Actually, it is more common for older Americans. For most older individuals, it is the systolic pressure that increases with age. Diastolic pressure increases until about 55 years of age, then it begins to decline.

To find out if you have ISH (isolated systolic hypertension), you need to have it checked. Remember, hypertension often times has no signs or symptoms so don't fall into the mindset that you can tell if you have it or not - go have it checked!

Once you have ISH, you have it for life. It cannot be cured, but it can be controlled. The alternative to not controlling your blood pressure is: stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure, kidney damage, blindness and decrease in the quality of life. How does that sound for a great retirement plan?

The treatment for ISH is a healthy lifestyle and, if necessary, adding medication to control it.

What about diastolic blood pressure - what is that?
Diastolic pressure is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart relaxes between beats. It is the bottom number. A good way to remember Diastolic (Down number). For younger individuals it is the diastolic number that is important. If the number is higher, the person is in greater risk of heart attacks, kidney failure and strokes.

There are some illnesses that are out-of-our-control, but others, like hypertension, can be controlled or prevented. Life is always a matter of choices, so whatever decision you make with regards to your own health, will be something you and you alone will be dealing with later.