High blood pressure (sometimes called hypertension) is very common and doesn’t always have obvious symptoms. 

Knowing you have high blood pressure and making small lifestyle changes can help prevent life-threatening complications like heart attack and stroke. This is why regular blood pressure testing for anyone age 40 and over is so important. 

When you have your blood pressure measured, the reading is written as two numbers:

• The first number is called systolic and measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. 
• The second number is called diastolic and measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.

A normal blood pressure reading would be 120/80 or lower.