Dedicated to Your BP Health in the Mid-South Area

High blood pressure occurs when the pressure of blood in the blood vessels stays high over a period of time. High blood pressure makes the heart work harder. It can harm your heart, your kidneys, and your eyes. High blood pressure can cause heart attack, kidney failure, and even death. 

High blood pressure usually has NO signs or symptoms. The only way to know you have high blood pressure is to get it checked - at least once a year or more often if you have high blood pressure.

The top number, systolic, tells you the pressure of the blood when the heart is beating. The bottom number, diastolic, is the pressure when the heart is at rest. A reading of 140/90 or more is high blood pressure, or hypertension.

Systolic: The top number is the pressure on the artery walls of a beating heart.

Diastolic: The bottom number is the pressure on the artery walls of a heart at rest. 

Too much glucose (sugar) in the blood for a long time can cause diabetes problems. This high blood glucose (also called blood sugar) can damage many parts of the body, such as the heart, blood vessels, eyes and kidneys. 

Maybe. You may have one or more diabetes problems or none at all. It is hard to know if or when your diabetes will cause problems. Keeping your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol under control can prevent diabetes problems. Staying active can help to prevent diabetes problems. Blood glucose target numbers are usually individualized based on duration of diabetes, age and other individual considerations. Talk with your health care provider to learn about controlling diabetes. 

Before meals
1 to 2 hours after the start of a meal
90 to 130 mg/dl
Less than 180 mg/dl