When the blood pressure is considered abnormal and what are the symptoms?

How high the BP is abnormal?
120 mm of Hg systolic and 80 mm Hg diastolic is considered normal BP. But the blood pressure of a person is not a single entity. Throughout the day, depending on our stress, mood, physical activities it varies. So a single measurement above 120/ 80 cannot be considered abnormal and person cannot be called as hypertensive. If the reading continues to be high repeatedly even when he is relaxed then the person is considered as hypertensive.


For practical purposes systolic pressure >120 & <138>80 & <> 140/ 90 is treated actively.
Previously much importance was not given to raised systolic BP, and was considered due to stress or, anxiety. Nowadays persistently high systolic BP is considered as a disease entity and treated. Labile hypertension is another entity where a person’s BP is found mild to moderately elevated at some visits and normal at other visits. They are very likely to to step in the persistent hypertension club sooner or, later.

What are the symptoms of hypertension or high blood pressure?
Hypertension is also called rightly as “Silent Killer”. Most of the time it develops with no symptom at all. It steady increases without warning and develop symptoms when it has already damaged many organs beyond repair. The symptoms when occur, the hypertension is then severe enough. Headache is a well known symptom, mainly felt at the back of the head, particularly worse while waking up in the morning and gradually become less as the day progresses. Long standing hypertension, when affect the heart function may cause shortness of breath on exertion and swelling around the ankle. Easy tiredness, dizziness, low sexual potential, palpitations are the symptoms in severe hypertension.
Organ specific symptoms are also very late to develop. Effect on the vessels of nose give rise to nose bleeding or epistaxis, Urinary tract to blood in urine, brain to sudden black outs.
As these are very late to develop regular check up of blood pressure is recommended. After the age of 30 blood pressure should be checked every alternate years and after 40 each year.


This article is republished in India Study Channel