What does “hypertension” mean?
With each heartbeat, the heart contracts and blood is pumped throughout the body. With each heart contraction, blood is pushed into the blood vessels leading away from the heart (called arteries). This pressure of the blood in the arteries increases when the heart contracts and decreases as the heart refills with blood between contractions. The maximum pressure in the arteries during contraction of the heart is called the systolic blood pressure and is the top number of a blood pressure reading. The minimum pressure in between heartbeats is called the diastolic blood pressure and is the bottom number of a blood pressure measurement. For example if you have normal blood pressure, your reading might be 120/80 (which is said as “120 over 80”), with 120 being your systolic pressure and 80 being your diastolic pressure. Hypertension is an abnormal elevation in either the systolic or diastolic pressure. There is no precise dividing line between normal and elevated blood pressure, but a blood
