Blood pressure is measured as two figures. The first [‘systolic’] is the highest pressure the blood in your arteries after each heart beat. The second [‘diastolic’] is the lowest pressure at any time in your arteries. Both are important. The numbers refer to millimetres of mercury [‘mm Hg’] in a blood pressure machine, the commonest method of measuring it.

‘Normal’ or healthy blood pressure

Briefly the lower the better. We will discuss the possibility that you may benefit from blood pressure lowering medication when the figures are approaching 160/90, but this is merely blood generalisation.

For people age 25-74 our computer can quickly calculate the statistical risk of your developing heart disease and/or a stroke by combining your age, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and whether you smoke or are diabetic. We can easily tell you your current risk or if you are aged between 35 and 75. You can click here to check this out for yourself.

High blood pressure is linked to premature heart disease and strokes. If the overall risk of you having heart disease or a stroke is 20% or more over the next 10 years we would normally want to discuss taking regular aspirin, and possibly ‘statin’ treatment to lower your cholesterol levels with you.

You can help to lower your blood pressure by:

• Increasing exercise and losing weight
   
• Each 1 kilogram [about 2lb] of weight that you lose will lower your blood pressure by 1mm Hg, which all helps. It is very difficult to lose weight over a long time without increasing the regular exercise you take, which also has huge health benefits.
   
• Reducing salt intake
   
• Stopping adding salt to meals, and avoiding processed food that often contains ‘hidden salt’ can bring your blood pressure down by 5-10mm hg.
   
• Reducing alcohol consumption
  Excess alcohol intake is the commonest reversible cause of high blood pressure. It is the alcohol that raises your blood pressure, not what it is dissolved in, although many alcoholic drinks contain many calories.

If you have high blood pressure

We normally ask that you have your blood pressure checked every six months by either the health care assistant or nurse here in the practice.

This can often be combined with other appointments, such as a flu vaccination or blood tests, but please check in advance that it is possible to combine both on the same day.

If you need your blood pressure monitoring

This is usually because your blood pressure is raised but not high enough to require medication. Your doctor will tell you how often this needs to be done – often this is annually.