You can achieve that goal in different ways, like eating a healthy diet, exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, quitting smoking, eating less than 1,500 milligrams of salt per day, and using programs like meditation and yoga to relieve your stress. If it's high, you and your doctor will set a blood pressure goal. You can check your blood pressure yourself with a home monitor, or have it checked at your doctor's office. Usually there are no symptoms at all, and you won't be able to find out that you have high blood pressure unless you've had it checked, or you've developed complications like heart disease or kidney problems. So, how do you know if you have high blood pressure? Often you don't know, because high blood pressure doesn't have symptoms like a fever or cough. It can also damage your heart, your kidneys, and other organs. With high blood pressure, the extra force of your blood pushing against your artery walls eventually damages them. Why is high blood pressure a problem, you ask? Well, you can think of high blood pressure as being like a river that's rushing too hard, eventually it's going to damage its banks. A blood pressure of 140 over 90 or more is considered high. You want your blood pressure to stay at 120 over 80 or less. The bottom number is called the diastolic blood pressure and that's the pressure when your heart rests between beats.
That's the pressure in your blood vessels while your heart is pumping. The top number in your blood pressure is called the systolic blood pressure. When your doctor talks to you about your blood pressure, he's referring to the force of your blood pushing against your artery walls. That's what's called essential hypertension. Sometimes when your blood pressure is high, your doctor might not be able to find any direct cause for it. Stress and your genes can also bring your blood pressure up. Abnormal blood pressure readings are described as follows:Ĭhildren older than age 13 follow the same guidelines for high blood pressure as adults.Ĭarrying a lot of extra weight around your middle or sprinkling too much salt onto your food at each meal can cause high blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension. You can also ask your health care provider. A child's blood pressure numbers are compared with the blood pressure measurements of other children the same age, height, and sex.īlood pressure ranges in children ages 1 to 13 years are published by a government agency.
This is because what is considered normal blood pressure changes as a child grows. High blood pressure in children up to age 13 is measured differently than in adults.
The second (bottom) number is the diastolic pressure.The first (top) number is the systolic blood pressure.One or both of these numbers can be too high. Blood pressure measurements are written this way: 120/80. This article focuses on high blood pressure in children, which is often a result of being overweight.īlood pressure readings are given as two numbers. High blood pressure (hypertension) is an increase in this force. Blood pressure is a measurement of the force exerted against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood to your body.