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When a person has high blood pressure, small blood vessels can become damaged and less effective in supplying the body's vital organs (brain, kidneys and heart) with oxygen and nutrients. Each increase in blood pressure of 20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure or 10 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure above normal level is associated with two-fold differences in death rates from stroke, ischemic heart disease and other vascular causes.
Tool to estimate your Blood Pressure Health Risks
If you want to estimate your High Blood Pressure health risks go to our useful links page and look for the American Heart Association Risk Calculator Link.
Sources:
(1) Prospective Studies Collaboration. Age-specific relevance of usual
blood pressure to vascular mortality: a meta-analysis of individual data
for one million adults in 61 prospective studies. Lancet 2002;360:1903-1913.
(2)
Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics. American Heart Association - 2006
Update.
(3) U.S. Renal Data Systems. USRDS 2003 Annual Data Report. National
Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases. 2003.
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