Around one in ten women develop high blood pressure during pregnancy. This increases the risk of long-term high blood pressure. For some people, a cause of high blood pressure is found. This is known as ‘secondary hypertension’. In most cases, there isn't a specific reason for the cause of high blood pressure, but most people develop it because of their diet, lifestyle or medical condition. By looking at all your blood pressure readings over a few days, your GP can work out what your 'average’ blood pressure is.

Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries. Your arteries are the vessels (tubes) that carry blood from your heart to your brain and the rest of your body. You need a certain amount of pressure to get the blood moving around your body.

How is blood pressure measured?

Normal blood pressure is usually considered to be between 90/60 mmHg and 120/80 mmHg. For over-80s, because it’s normal for arteries to get stiffer as we get older, the ideal blood pressure is under 150/90 mmHg (or 145/85 mmHg at home).

If you are worried that any medicine or remedy might affect your blood pressure, ask your doctor or pharmacist about it. Your arteries are normally stretchy, so they can cope with your blood pressure going up and down. But with high blood pressure, your arteries lose their stretchiness, becoming stiff or narrow. When you have your blood pressure measured, the reading is written as two numbers. The first is when the pressure is at its highest (or systolic pressure), and the second at its lowest (or diastolic pressure).

We've worked with BHF nurses to make it easier to measure and manage your blood pressure at home by pulling all the information you'll need together in one simple place: Research funded by the BHF found that lowering the blood pressure of birth mothers within six weeks of giving birth reduced their long-term risk. The NHS has a handy tool to show where your blood pressure is on a chart. What counts as high blood pressure? Stage three: this is when your systolic blood pressure is over 180 mmHg or your diastolic blood pressure is over 120 mmHg in the clinic. This stage is also called ‘severe hypertension’, and your GP will need to assess you urgently for further investigations.

Record additional readings at home using your own blood pressure monitor(called home blood pressure monitoring, or HBPM). You can also ask your GP practice if they are part of any schemes where you can loan a blood pressure monitor from them. The medical term for high blood pressure is ‘hypertension’, and it means your blood pressure is always too high. This means your heart is working harder when pumping blood around your body. Why is it important to know your blood pressure? Discuss your readings with your healthcare team and ask any questions you have. Together, you might want to set a target blood pressure that’s right for you and your health goals. How is high blood pressure treated? Stage one: this is when your blood pressure is between 140/90 mmHg and 160/100 mmHg in the clinic, or 135/85 mmHg to 150/95 mmHg at home. Learn more about how high blood pressure is treated. We’re here for you with information and support

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Get in touch with our expert cardiac nurses through our Heart Helpline, which is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. They can give you information and support about heart and circulatory diseases, as well as their risk factors. Systolic pressure: this is the higher of the two numbers. It’s the pressure against your arteries when your heart is pumping blood around your body. As many as 5 million adults in the UK have undiagnosed high blood pressure and don’t know they are at risk. The only way to know whether you have high blood pressure is to have it measured. For example, your reading might be something like 140/90 mmHg, which you would say as “140 over 90” (mmHg is a unit for measuring blood pressure). How is high blood pressure diagnosed?

Diastolic pressure: this is the lower of the two numbers. It shows how much pressure is in your arteries when your heart relaxes between beats. How your high blood pressure is managed depends on a range of things, such as your health goals and the stage of your condition. The healthcare team at your GP practice will help you create a plan to reduce your blood pressure. Your blood pressure naturally goes up and down throughout the day and night, and it’s normal for it to go up while you’re moving about. It’s when your overall blood pressure is always high, even when you are resting, that you need to do something about it.Your blood pressure is usually measured using a blood pressure monitor. This is usually an electronic monitor connected to an inflatable cuff, which is wrapped around your upper arm.