High Blood Pressure: What It Is, How It Affects You, and What You Can Do

When your blood pushes too hard against artery walls, you have high blood pressure, a chronic condition where force of blood against artery walls is consistently too high, increasing risk of heart disease and stroke. Also known as hypertension, it’s called the silent killer because most people don’t feel it—until something serious happens. About one in three adults in the U.S. has it, and many don’t even know. It doesn’t cause headaches or dizziness like people think. Instead, it quietly damages your heart, kidneys, and blood vessels over years.

High blood pressure doesn’t happen alone. It’s often tied to other conditions like cardiovascular health, the overall condition of the heart and blood vessels, including how well they pump and transport blood. If your arteries stiffen or your heart has to work harder, that’s where problems start. It also links to blood pressure medication, drugs prescribed to lower pressure by relaxing arteries, reducing fluid, or slowing heart rate. Some people need just one pill. Others need three or more. And not all meds work the same—what helps your neighbor might not help you.

What raises your risk? Being overweight, eating too much salt, not moving enough, drinking too much alcohol, or having a family history. Stress plays a role too, but not in the way most think. It’s not the big stressor that gets you—it’s the constant low-grade tension that keeps your body in fight-or-flight mode. And yes, some meds you take for other things can raise your numbers, like certain cold medicines or NSAIDs.

Measuring your blood pressure isn’t just about the numbers on the machine. It’s about patterns. One high reading doesn’t mean you have it. You need consistent highs over time. Home monitoring is more accurate than clinic readings for many people because of white coat syndrome—where nerves spike your numbers just because you’re at the doctor’s office.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t just a list of drugs or generic advice. It’s real talk about what works and what doesn’t. You’ll see how high blood pressure connects to heart attacks, kidney damage, and even how you handle airport security with your meds. You’ll learn why some people need different meds than others, how lifestyle changes actually make a difference, and what to watch for when your doctor switches your prescription. No fluff. No guesswork. Just what you need to understand your numbers, protect your body, and talk smarter with your care team.