Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body.

Blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day, but it can damage your heart and cause health problems if it stays high for a long time. Hypertension, also called high blood pressure, is blood pressure that is higher than normal.

Facts About Hypertension in the United States

In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association published new guidelines for hypertension management and defined high hypertension as a blood pressure at or above 130/80 mm Hg. Stage 2 hypertension is defined as a blood pressure at or above 140/90 mm Hg.

• Having hypertension puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States.
• In 2017, nearly half a million deaths in the United States included hypertension as a primary or contributing cause.
• Nearly half of adults in the United States (108 million, or 45%) have hypertension defined as a systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mm Hg or are taking medication for hypertension.
• Only about 1 in 4 adults (24%) with hypertension have their condition under control.
• About half of adults (45%) with uncontrolled hypertension have a blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg or higher. This includes 37 million U.S. adults.
• Half of adults (30 million) with blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg who should be taking medication to control their blood pressure aren’t prescribed or aren’t taking medication.
• High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death in 2017 for more than 472,000 people in the United States. That’s nearly 1,300 deaths each day.
• High blood pressure costs the United States about $131 billion each year, averaged over 12 years from 2003 to 2014.

Rates of High Blood Pressure Control Vary by Sex and Race

Uncontrolled high blood pressure is common; however, certain groups of people are more likely to have control over their high blood pressure than others.

• A greater percent of men (47%) have high blood pressure than women (43%).
• High blood pressure is more common in non-Hispanic black adults (54%) than in non-Hispanic white adults (46%), non-Hispanic Asian adults (39%), or Hispanic adults (36%).
• Among those recommended to take blood pressure medication, blood pressure control is higher among non-Hispanic white adults (32%) than in non-Hispanic black adults (25%), non-Hispanic Asian adults (19%), or Hispanic adults (25%).

Rates of High Blood Pressure Vary by Geography

High blood pressure is more common in some areas of the United States than in others. Below is a map showing the self-reported rate of hypertension by state in 2011 (using a definition of hypertension as a blood pressure ≥140/≥90 mm Hg). However, this map likely underreports the true effect of hypertension in each state, because about 1 in 5 adults with high blood pressure is unaware of it and would not report having it.

More than 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure, or hypertension. Many of those people don't know they have it, because there are usually no warning signs. This can be dangerous, because high blood pressure can lead to life-threatening conditions like heart attack or stroke. The good news is that you can often prevent or treat high blood pressure. Early diagnosis and heart-healthy lifestyle changes can keep high blood pressure from seriously damaging your health.

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Each time your heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure is highest when your heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When your heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is called diastolic pressure.

Your blood pressure reading uses these two numbers. Usually the systolic number comes before or above the diastolic number. For example, 120/80 means a systolic of 120 and a diastolic of 80.

How is high blood pressure diagnosed?

High blood pressure usually has no symptoms. So the only way to find out if you have it is to get regular blood pressure checks from your health care provider. Your provider will use a gauge, a stethoscope or electronic sensor, and a blood pressure cuff. He or she will take two or more readings at separate appointments before making a diagnosis.

For children and teens, the health care provider compares the blood pressure reading to what is normal for other kids who are the same age, height, and gender.

People with diabetes or chronic kidney disease should keep their blood pressure below 130/80.

Who is at risk for high blood pressure?

Anyone can develop high blood pressure, but there are certain factors that can increase your risk:

• Age - Blood pressure tends to rise with age
• Race/Ethnicity - High blood pressure is more common in African American adults
• Weight - People who are overweight or have obesity are more likely to develop high blood pressure
• Sex - Before age 55, men are more likely than women to develop high blood pressure. After age 55, women are more likely than men to develop it.
• Lifestyle - Certain lifestyle habits can raise your risk for high blood pressure, such as eating too much sodium (salt) or not enough potassium, lack of exercise, drinking too much alcohol, and smoking.
• Family history - A family history of high blood pressure raises the risk of developing high blood pressure

How can I prevent high blood pressure?

You can help prevent high blood pressure by having a healthy lifestyle. This means:

• Eating a healthy diet. To help manage your blood pressure, you should limit the amount of sodium (salt) that you eat and increase the amount of potassium in your diet. It is also important to eat foods that are lower in fat, as well as plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The DASH eating plan is an example of an eating plan that can help you to lower your blood pressure.
• Getting regular exercise. Exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your blood pressure. You should try to get moderate-intensity aerobic exercise at least 2 and a half hours per week, or vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise for 1 hour and 15 minutes per week. Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, is any exercise in which your heart beats harder and you use more oxygen than usual.
• Being at a healthy weight. Being overweight or having obesity increases your risk for high blood pressure. Maintaining a healthy weight can help you control high blood pressure and reduce your risk for other health problems.
• Limiting alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. It also adds extra calories, which may cause weight gain. Men should have no more than two drinks per day, and women only one.
• Not smoking. Cigarette smoking raises your blood pressure and puts you at higher risk for heart attack and stroke. If you do not smoke, do not start. If you do smoke, talk to your health care provider for help in finding the best way for you to quit.
• Managing stress. Learning how to relax and manage stress can improve your emotional and physical health and lower high blood pressure. Stress management techniques include exercising, listening to music, focusing on something calm or peaceful, and meditating.

If you already have high blood pressure, it is important to prevent it from getting worse or causing complications. You should get regular medical care and follow your prescribed treatment plan. Your plan will include healthy lifestyle habit recommendations and possibly medicines.

Risk factors that can increase your risk of high blood pressure include health conditions, your lifestyle, and your family history.

Some of the risk factors for high blood pressure cannot be controlled, such as your age or family history. But you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.

What are conditions that increase my risk for high blood pressure?

Some medical conditions can raise your risk for high blood pressure. If you have one of these conditions, you can take steps to manage it and lower your risk for high blood pressure.

Elevated Blood Pressure

Elevated blood pressure is blood pressure that is slightly higher than normal. High blood pressure usually develops over time. Having blood pressure that is slightly higher than normal increases your risk for developing chronic, or long-lasting, high blood pressure in the future.

If your blood pressure is between 120/80 mmHg and 129/80 mmHg, you have elevated blood pressure. Learn more about how blood pressure is measured.

You can take steps to manage your blood pressure and keep it in a healthy range.

Diabetes

About 6 out of 10 of people who have diabetes also have high blood pressure. Diabetes causes sugars to build up in the blood and also increases the risk for heart disease.

Talk with your doctor about ways to manage diabetes and control other risk factors.

What behaviors increase risk for high blood pressure?

Your lifestyle choices can increase your risk for high blood pressure. To reduce your risk, your doctor may recommend changes to your lifestyle.

The good news is that healthy behaviors can lower your risk for high blood pressure.

Unhealthy Diet

A diet that is too high in sodium and too low in potassium puts you at risk for high blood pressure.

Eating too much sodium—an element in table salt—increases blood pressure. Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed and restaurant foods. Learn more about sodium and high blood pressure.

Not eating enough potassium—a mineral that your body needs to work properly—also can increase blood pressure. Potassium is found in many foods; bananas, potatoes, beans, and yogurt have high levels of potassium.

Physical Inactivity

Getting regular physical activity helps your heart and blood vessels stay strong and healthy, which may help lower your blood pressure. Regular physical activity can also help you keep a healthy weight, which may also help lower your blood pressure.

Obesity

Having obesity is having excess body fat. Having obesity or overweight also means your heart must work harder to pump blood and oxygen around your body. Over time, this can add stress to your heart and blood vessels.

Obesity is linked to higher “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels and to lower “good” cholesterol levels. Learn more about cholesterol.

In addition to high blood pressure, having obesity can also lead to heart disease and diabetes. Talk to your health care team about a plan to reduce your weight to a healthy level.

Too Much Alcohol

Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure.

• Women should have no more than one drink a day.
• Men should have no more than two drinks a day.

Tobacco Use

Tobacco use increases your risk for high blood pressure. Smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels. Nicotine raises blood pressure, and breathing in carbon monoxide—which is produced from smoking tobacco—reduces the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry.

What other factors increase my risk for high blood pressure?

Family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments that can influence their health and their risk for disease. High blood pressure can run in a family, and your risk for high blood pressure can increase based on your age and your race or ethnicity.

Genetics and Family History

When members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes, that process is called heredity.

Genes likely play some role in high blood pressure, heart disease, and other related conditions. However, it is also likely that people with a family history of high blood pressure share common environments and other potential factors that increase their risk.

The risk for high blood pressure can increase even more when heredity combines with unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking and eating an unhealthy diet.

Find out more about genetics and disease on CDC’s Office of Public Health Genomics website.

Family health history is a record of the diseases and health conditions people in your family have had. Family health history is a useful tool for understanding health risks and preventing disease. To help people collect and organize information on their family history, CDC’s Office of Public Health Genomics collaborated with the Surgeon General and other federal agencies to develop a Web-based tool called My Family Health Portrait.

Other Characteristics

Both men and women can have high blood pressure. Some other characteristics that you cannot control—such as your age, race, or ethnicity—can affect your risk for high blood pressure.

• Age. Because your blood pressure tends to rise as you get older, your risk for high blood pressure increases with age. About 9 out of 10 Americans will develop high blood pressure during their lifetime.
• Sex. Women are about as likely as men to develop high blood pressure at some point during their lives.
• Race or ethnicity. Black people develop high blood pressure more often than white people, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, or Alaska Natives do. Compared with white people, black people also develop high blood pressure earlier in life.

Measure your blood pressure regularly to help your health care team diagnose any health problems early. You and your health care team can take steps to control your blood pressure if it is too high.

Why do I need to measure my blood pressure?

Measuring your blood pressure is the only way to know whether you have high blood pressure. High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it.

Where can I get my blood pressure checked?

You can get your blood pressure measured

• By a health care team member at a doctor’s office.
• At a pharmacy that has a digital blood pressure measurement machine.
• With a home blood pressure monitor that you can use yourself.

What affects a blood pressure reading?

Many things can affect a blood pressure reading, including:

• Nervousness about having your blood pressure taken. This is called “white coat syndrome.” As many as 1 in 3 people who have a high blood pressure reading at the doctor’s office may have normal blood pressure readings outside of it.
• What you ate, drank, or did before your reading. If you smoked, drank alcohol or caffeine, or exercised within 30 minutes of having your blood pressure measured, your reading might be higher.
• How you are sitting. Crossing your legs and letting your arm droop at your side rather than rest on a table at chest height can make your blood pressure go up.

It’s important to get an accurate blood pressure reading so that you have a clearer picture of your risk for heart disease and stroke.

A reading that says your blood pressure is lower than it actually is may give you a false sense of security about your health. A reading that says your blood pressure is higher than it actually is may lead to treatment you don’t need.

What is the correct way to measure blood pressure?

Learn the correct way to have your blood pressure taken, whether you’re getting it checked at the doctor’s office or checking it yourself at home. Use this checklist:

• Don’t eat or drink anything 30 minutes before you take your blood pressure.
• Empty your bladder before your reading.
• Sit in a comfortable chair with your back supported for at least 5 minutes before your reading.
• Put both feet flat on the ground and keep your legs uncrossed.
• Rest your arm with the cuff on a table at chest height.
• Make sure the blood pressure cuff is snug but not too tight. The cuff should be against your bare skin, not over clothing.
• Do not talk while your blood pressure is being measured.

How do health care professionals measure my blood pressure?

First, a health care professional wraps an inflatable cuff around your arm. The health care professional then inflates the cuff, which gently tightens on your arm. The cuff has a gauge on it that will measure your blood pressure.

The health care professional will slowly let air out of the cuff while listening to your pulse with a stethoscope and watching the gauge. This process is quick and painless. If using a digital or automatic blood pressure cuff, the healthcare professional will not need to use a stethoscope.

The gauge uses a unit of measurement called millimeters of mercury (mmHg) to measure the pressure in your blood vessels. Learn more about blood pressure measurements.

If you have high blood pressure, talk to your healthcare team about steps to take to control your blood pressure to lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

How can I measure my blood pressure at home?

Talk with your health care team about regularly measuring your blood pressure at home, also called self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring.

SMBP means you regularly use a personal blood pressure measurement device away from a doctor’s office or hospital—usually at home. These blood pressure monitors are easy and safe to use. A health care team member can show you how to use one if you need help.

Evidence shows that people with high blood pressure are more likely to lower their blood pressure if they use SMBP combined with support from their health care team than if they don’t use SMBP.

Use these additional tips for SMBP:

• Use a blood pressure log to record your blood pressure measurements.
• Take your blood pressure at the same time every day.
• Take at least two readings, 1 or 2 minutes apart.

How often should I measure my blood pressure?

Talk with your health care team about how often you should have your blood pressure measured or when to measure it yourself. People who have high blood pressure may need to measure their blood pressure more often than people who do not have high blood pressure.

What should I do if my blood pressure numbers are high?

If you are concerned about your blood pressure numbers, talk to your health care team. They can help you make a plan to manage high blood pressure.

No matter your age, you also can take steps each day to help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.

Learn steps you can take to lower your risk for health problems from high blood pressure (also called hypertension), such as heart disease and stroke.

Measure Your Blood Pressure on a Regular Basis

Measuring your blood pressure is an important step toward keeping a healthy blood pressure. Because high blood pressure and elevated blood pressure often have no symptoms, checking your blood pressure is the only way to know for sure whether it is too high.

You can measure your blood pressure at home with a home blood pressure monitor, or you can visit your doctor or nurse to have your blood pressure checked.

If you learn that you have high blood pressure, you should take steps to control your blood pressure to lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Manage Diabetes

Most people with diabetes—about 6 out of 10—also have high blood pressure. If your health care professional thinks you have symptoms of diabetes, he or she may recommend that you get tested.

If you have diabetes, monitor your blood glucose (also called blood sugar) levels carefully and talk with your health care team about treatment options. Your doctor or health care professional may recommend certain lifestyle changes to help keep your blood glucose levels under good control. Those actions will also help reduce your risk for high blood pressure.

Take Your Medicine

If you take medicine to treat high blood pressure or other health conditions, follow your doctor’s or health care professional’s instructions carefully. Always ask questions if you do not understand something, and never stop taking your medicine without talking to your doctor or pharmacist first. Stopping your blood pressure medicine without first talking to your health care team could lead to serious health consequences.

Make Lifestyle Changes

If you have high blood pressure, you can help lower it by being physically active, eating a healthy diet, and making other lifestyle changes.

Talk with Your Health Care Team

You and your health care team can work together to prevent or treat the medical conditions that lead to high blood pressure. Discuss your treatment plan regularly and bring a list of questions to your appointments.

What is DASH?

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

This eating plan is based on research studies sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It can help lower high blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels.

How can I follow it?

• Fill up on healthy vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
• Eat a mix of fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils.
• Limit foods that are high in saturated fat.
• Limit sugary beverages and sweets.

What else can I do to help lower my blood pressure?

Along with DASH, staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking can help lower your blood pressure. If you drink alcohol, cutting back to no more than one drink a day can also help.

By living a healthy lifestyle, you can help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. Preventing high blood pressure, which is also called hypertension, can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke. Practice the following healthy living habits:

Eat a Healthy Diet

Choose healthy meal and snack options to help you avoid high blood pressure and its complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Talk with your health care team about eating a variety of foods rich in potassium, fiber, and protein and lower in salt (sodium) and saturated fat. For many people, making these healthy changes can help keep blood pressure low and protect against heart disease and stroke.

The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan is a healthy diet plan with a proven record of helping people lower their blood pressure.

Keep Yourself at a Healthy Weight

Having overweight or obesity increases your risk for high blood pressure. To determine whether your weight is in a healthy range, doctors often calculate your body mass index (BMI). If you know your weight and height, you can calculate your BMI at CDC’s Assessing Your Weight website. Doctors sometimes also use waist and hip measurements to assess body fat.

Talk with your health care team about ways to reach a healthy weight, including choosing healthy foods and getting regular physical activity.

Be Physically Active

Physical activity can help keep you at a healthy weight and lower your blood pressure. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking or bicycling, every week. That’s about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Children and adolescents should get 1 hour of physical activity every day.

Do Not Smoke

Smoking raises your blood pressure and puts you at higher risk for heart attack and stroke. If you do not smoke, do not start. If you do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for heart disease. Your doctor can suggest ways to help you quit.

For more information about tobacco use and quitting, see CDC’s Smoking and Tobacco Use Web site.

Limit How Much Alcohol You Drink

Do not drink too much alcohol, which can raise your blood pressure. Men should have no more than 2 alcoholic drinks per day, and women should have no more than 1 alcoholic drink per day. Visit the CDC’s Alcohol and Public Health website for more information.

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is important to your overall health, and enough sleep is part of keeping your heart and blood vessels healthy. Not getting enough sleep on a regular basis is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.