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Article: High blood pressure.(AgePage)(Disease/Disorder overview)
- Article from:
- Pamphlet by: National Institute on Aging
- Article date:
- November 1, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 National Institute on Aging. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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You can have high blood pressure, or hypertension, and still feel just fine. That's because high blood pressure does not cause signs of illness that you can see or feel. But, high blood pressure, sometimes called "the silent killer," is a major health problem. If high blood pressure isn't controlled with lifestyle changes and medicine, it can lead to stroke, heart disease, eye problems, or kidney failure.
What Is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries. When the doctor measures your blood pressure, the results are given in two numbers. The first number, called systolic pressure, measures the pressure when your heart ...