High blood pressure is a very serious disease.
It can cause damage to your vital organs and in the worst cases can be fatal.
Sufferers of this disease often do not show any symptoms and when the symptoms do show, the damage has often already occurred.
Therefore, the best way to determine whether you have it or not is to go and see a trained doctor and get it checked out.
Blood pressure is said to be normal if it is 140 over 85.
However, it can differ between different races and geographic locations.
Generally speaking any reading above 140 over 85 is said to be high.
A few degrees above normal may not cause any significant problems but a significant increase can be dangerous.
As I mentioned above high blood pressure does not always display symptoms.
However, there are a number of signs you can look out for.
Severe headaches can indicate you may be suffering from this disease, especially if they occur more regularly than usual.
If you find yourself breathless after a little exertion this is another sign that you may have it, particularly if this didn't seem to happen previously.
A third sign is increased nose bleeds or increased bleeding from any other area of the body.
Other signs of high blood pressure may include hyperventilation or tension.
If you notice any of these signs, particularly an increased occurrence of any particular sign e.
g.
increased nosebleeds, you should seek further advice from your doctor immediately.
If left untreated this disease can cause unwanted damage to a number of areas across your body.
Your eyes receive blood through the optic arteries and if these are damaged then your vision may be impaired.
High blood pressure can also cause damage to the brain.
The brain requires oxygen and nutrition which is supplied in the blood stream.
If this supply is impaired it can lead to a mini-stroke, a full stroke and even dementia in old age.
High blood pressure can also cause serious damage to the heart including heart attacks and heart failure.
As you can see high blood pressure can easily go unnoticed and potentially cause a lot of damage to your body.
However, if it is identified early enough then you are likely to never experience any of the consequences mentioned in this article.
It's a good idea to go and see your doctor right away and get tested for this disease.
As long as it is diagnosed early enough it can be managed using a combination of medication, diet and exercise.