In the UK, about half of people over 65, and about 1 in 4 middle aged adults, have high blood pressure.
High blood pressure usually causes no symptoms. However, over the years, high blood pressure may be damaging to the arteries and put a strain on your heart.
Having high blood pressure is one of several 'risk factors' that can increase your chance of developing heart disease, a stroke, and other serious conditions.
The higher the blood pressure, the greater the health risk. If you lower a high blood pressure, you reduce your risk of serious illness.
In most cases, the cause of high blood pressure is not known. Rarely, high blood pressure is caused by other conditions. For example, certain kidney or hormone problems.
At Burn Brae we have developed our own Hypertension Management Plan to help you take control of your hypertension. Regular Hypertension reviews are undertaken by our experienced Practice Nurses.
To help you manage your condition you can purchase your own blood pressure monitor. These monitors range in price from about £20 to £100 but typically you would expect to pay around £30 for a decent monitor.
For more detailed information on hypertension see the NHS.UK webpage