I am age 26 and decided to check my BP on an auto-cuff on a gut feeling last year. Was around 155/110, genetic hypertension. Some diet changes, especially reducing my caffeine intake from 15 cups of day to 3 - 5 a day, dropped to around 145/100 avg.

I require medicines to bring it to a normal range, taken daily.

Why should you check your blood pressure?

High blood pressure affects up to 45% of people in the United States and often produces no symptoms. This is fine and dandy until you suffer long-term damage to organs such as kidneys and your eyes, or end up having a stoke.

High blood pressure is often easy to control and to check for it is non-invasive. My mother went for a random check and found hers were high enough to cause severe damage, around 200/120+. She got it under control at 42, but she would pass away from a ruptured aneurysm at 49.

What do Blood Pressure Readings Mean?

A blood pressure reading is comprised of two numbers. The top number is the systolic. This is when the heart is compressed/at systole. The diastolic or bottom number is the pressure on the vessel walls when the heart is at rest/diastole.

Normal BP is systolic of 120 and a diastolic of 70 or thereabouts, with some leeway on either side.

Elevated BP is a systolic 125 - 129 or thereabouts; a diastolic will still be below 80.

Stage 1 Hypertension is between 130 - 139 with a diastolic o between 80 - 89.

Stage 2 Hypertension is systolic over 140, with a diastolic over 90.

A Hypertensive Crisis is a systolic pressure of over 180 and a diastolic of over 120. This is a medical emergency if the reading is not a fluke, and you should seek medical advice at once.

My Blood Pressure is High. What now?

It did not take me long to check mine and then receive appropriate treatment, so you should book a consultation with your GP if yours is high. Most high blood pressure is easily controlled with medicines. Beetroot and other diet changes can reduce blood pressure if it is not too high. If caught early enough, no long term damage will be done; the medicines are usually well-tolerated. Both of my grandparents have been on BP medicines for 30+ years with no side-effects.

Should I get my BP checked?

Getting your BP checked takes almost no time at all, is non-invasive and painless. The damage done by high BP can be avoided, from eye and kidney damage to strokes that can cripple you if you treat it early.

A family member had an over 50 wellness check year before last at work. It was dangerously high that required emergency medicines to bring it down. He had no symptoms, either. My sisters were both normal, one of the few in our family to escape it.

Get it checked, get it treated. There are only upsides and no downsides.

Stay healthy folks!