High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
High blood pressure means blood pushes too hard against the artery walls; it often causes no symptoms but quietly raises the risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney damage.
Why it is called a silent condition
Every heartbeat pushes blood into the arteries. Blood pressure is the force of that blood on the artery walls, written as two numbers: the upper (systolic) when the heart beats and the lower (diastolic) when it relaxes. When pressure stays high for months and years, the heart has to work harder and the arteries stiffen and get damaged. Most people feel completely normal, so the only way to know is to measure it.
Reading your numbers
- Normal: below 120/80
- Elevated: upper 120 to 129 and lower below 80
- Stage 1: upper 130 to 139, or lower 80 to 89
- Stage 2: upper 140 or more, or lower 90 or more
These categories follow the 2025 American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guideline. Most adults on treatment aim for below 130/80, unless their doctor sets a different target.
What pushes BP up
Too much salt (pickles, papad, namkeen, packaged and outside food), extra weight, inactivity, alcohol, tobacco, stress, poor sleep, diabetes, kidney disease and family history. Sometimes another condition, such as a kidney or hormone problem or sleep apnoea, is the cause, and your doctor may look for it, especially in younger patients.
Checks your doctor may do
Repeated readings at the clinic and at home, an ECG, blood and urine tests for kidney function, sugar and cholesterol, and an echocardiogram to see whether the heart wall has thickened. Keep a home record with the BP diary tool and bring it to your visit.
Bringing it down
Less salt, regular walking, weight control, stopping tobacco and limiting alcohol all help lower BP. Many people also need one or more medicines, taken every day even when they feel fine. Do not stop or change them without asking your doctor. Uncontrolled BP over years is a major cause of heart failure, stroke and kidney disease.
When a reading becomes an emergency
A reading of 180/120 or higher is severe. Rest quietly for a few minutes and recheck; if it stays that high, seek urgent care. Go immediately if you also have chest pain, breathlessness, weakness, or trouble with vision or speech. See the emergency page.
Diagnosis and treatment are decided only after examination by your doctor. This page is meant to help you understand high blood pressure.
For understanding only — the right test or treatment is decided after examination.
