What is hypertension?
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a chronic medical condition where the blood pressure is constantly elevated. The blood pressure of a normal person is less than 120/80 mm Hg. Levels between 120/80 and 139/89 are considered as pre-hypertension. Hypertension is diagnosed when the levels are above 140/90 and usually 3 separate readings are taken over several weeks. The device used to measure blood pressure is called a sphygmanometer. It consists of an arm cuff, dial, pump and valve. Nowadays, battery operated sphgymanometers are available. This allows people who are of higher risks to own one for home used and monitoring purpose without the need of a health professional. However, they still need to go for routine check up and seek advice from their general practitioner What do the numbers in the reading represent? The first number represents systolic pressure, the pressure exerted by the blood flowing away from the heart while the second number represents the pressu...