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Overview
When blood pressure is measured, two numbers are calculated. One is the pressure when the heart pumps the blood, which is the systolic pressure. The other is when the heart rests between beats, which is the diastolic pressure. Either number can be too high for good health, and in either case, a single specific cause usually is not known.
Identification
Blood pressure is the pushing of blood against the artery walls as it is pumped by the heart. Blood pressure is highest when the heart beats and lower when the heart rests. Blood pressure is always measured as these two numbers, with the higher systolic number written above the diastolic or before it, as in 120/80. The measurement is said as "120 over 80."
Warning
A continued level of 140 for systolic or higher, and 90 for diastolic or higher, means the person has high blood pressure, or hypertension. The heart is working harder and the arteries are being pushed to the limit, which increases the risk of heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke, and kidney disorders. Traditionally, physicians focused on the diastolic blood pressure as being more important, but this is changing. Research has found that high systolic pressure also causes complications, especially in people over age 50.
Causes
In about 90 to 95 percent of patients, the cause of hypertension is not known, and scientists continue to research the subject. The name for this type of high blood pressure is primary, or essential, high blood pressure. When high blood pressure is caused by another medical problem, it is called secondary high blood pressure. This can result from kidney disease or abnormal glandular functioning. It also can occur because of chronic intake of alcohol, steroids or certain other medications.
Correlations
Although specific causes usually cannot be determined for most people yet, some factors are strongly correlated with high systolic pressure. It is more common in men over 45 and women over 55. This type of hypertension also is correlated with diabetes, being overweight, and smoking. Like high diastolic pressure, high systolic blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease, and treating this type of hypertension significantly decreases those risks.
Elderly Concerns
Over half of people older than 65 have high systolic pressure while their diastolic pressure is normal. This appears to result from decreased elasticity of major arterial blood vessels, so they no longer expand when the heart pumps blood. This causes the systolic pressure to be high.
Treatment
Doctors treat high systolic blood pressure with lifestyle changes including weight loss, exercise, smoking cessation, and diet improvements. If necessary, they prescribe medication.
