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High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is ranked by the World Health Organisation as the leading global risk factor for disease. The British Heart Foundation said as many as seven
million people in the UK are living with undiagnosed high blood pressure, without knowing they are at risk. The condition can increase the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. The
only way to know what your blood pressure is is to have it measured. Experts argue risks for heart disease begin gradually rising as blood pressure gets above 120, even if people never
cross the line into full-blown hypertension. Speaking to Express.co.uk last year, Dr Trisha Macnair, GP, said: “Blood pressure is the pressure of blood being pushed around your arteries. “It
is measured using two numbers. The systolic blood pressure - which is the top number - is the force behind the heart pumping.” The pressure of blood flowing through the arteries varies at
different times in the heartbeat cycle and the systolic pressure measures the pressure when your heart contracts and blood is forced through the arteries. “The second number - the diastolic
blood pressure - is the bottom number and that is the lowest levels your resting pressure - the lowest level your blood pressure reaches. “This measures how elastic your blood vessels
are," she added. Dr Macnair said high blood pressure is considered to be anything over 139/89. Low blood pressure is considered to be 90/60 or lower, but ideal blood pressure, according
to Dr Macnair, is around 120/80. However, experts have looked at whether lowering blood pressure even further would help or harm patients. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health
in the US looked at 9,300 high blood pressure patients were enrolled in the SPRINT study, the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial. Half received an average of about two medications
with the goal of lowering their systolic pressure below 140. The other half received an average of three medications with the goal of getting below 120. Experts found the patients who had
been treated more aggressively saw their risk of death drop by nearly 25 per cent compared to the less controlled patients. They also found rates of cardiovascular problems dropped by almost
30 per cent in the more controlled group. The report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found: “Among patients at high risk for cardiovascular events but without diabetes,
targeting a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg, as compared with less than 140 mm Hg, resulted in lower rates of fatal and nonfatal major cardiovascular events and death from any
cause, although significantly higher rates of some adverse events were observed in the intensive-treatment group.” The British Heart Foundation said: “Unless your doctor tells you
otherwise, your blood pressure should be below 140/90mmHg. “If you have heart or circulatory disease, including being told you have coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack or stroke,
or have diabetes or kidney disease, then it is usually recommended that your blood pressure should be below 130/80mmHg.” The charity adds that if a doctor or nurse says you have high blood
pressure, they are likely to encourage