High blood pressure means your artery walls absorb too much force with every heartbeat, around the clock. Normal is about 90/60 to 120/80, per MedlinePlus, and the diagnosis is a pattern - two or more elevated readings at separate appointments - not one high number.
The defining feature is silence: no symptoms for decades while pressure damages brain (stroke), heart (attack, failure), kidneys, and eyes - hence 'the silent killer' and the case for measuring regularly. What lowers it: less salt, more potassium-rich food, weight, exercise, less alcohol, better sleep - all with real evidence - plus daily medication when the numbers call, among the best-studied treatments in medicine. Measurement traps: white-coat spikes (home readings settle it) and caffeine, full bladder, or crossed legs inflating readings - sit quietly five minutes first. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, and can interpret your readings.
What to do
Common questions
What does high blood pressure mean?
High blood pressure - hypertension - means the force of blood pushing against your artery walls is too high, every heartbeat, around the clock. Normal sits around 90/60 to 120/80, per MedlinePlus's vital-signs table, and the diagnosis is not a single high reading but a pattern: two or more elevated readings at separate appointments. The defining feature is the silence: no symptoms, no warning sensations - people feel fine for decades while the pressure damages the arteries of the brain (stroke), heart (heart attack, heart failure), kidneys (failure), and eyes. That is why it owns the nickname 'the silent killer' and why the only way to know is to measure. What moves it down: the lifestyle set with real evidence - less salt, more potassium-rich food, weight loss, regular exercise, less alcohol, better sleep - genuinely lowers readings, and when the numbers or the total risk picture call for it, daily medication, which is among the most effective and best-studied in medicine. Two measurement traps: 'white coat' spikes at the office are real (home readings settle the question), and caffeine, a full bladder, and crossed legs all inflate a reading - sit quietly five minutes first. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, that can help you interpret your readings.