If you're an adult and your blood pressure is 140/90 mm Hg or above, you have hypertension and are at higher risk for heart disease, stroke and other medical problems. See a doctor and learn how to manage your blood pressure and how often to have it checked. High blood pressure has no symptoms, so if you haven't had it checked in a while, make an appointment now. One in three adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure. About 22 percent of them don't know they have it.

Factors that contribute to high blood pressure

Medical science doesn't understand why most cases of high blood pressure occur, so it's hard to say how to prevent it. However, we do know of several factors that may contribute to high blood pressure and raise your risk for heart attack and stroke.

Controllable risk factors

• Obesity — People with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher are more likely to develop high blood pressure.
• Eating too much salt — A high sodium intake increases blood pressure in some people.
• Drinking too much alcohol — Heavy and regular use of alcohol can increase blood pressure dramatically.
• Lack of physical activity — An inactive lifestyle makes it easier to become overweight and increases the chance of high blood pressure.
• Stress — This is often mentioned as a risk factor, but stress levels are hard to measure, and responses to stress vary from person to person.

Uncontrollable risk factors

• Race — Blacks develop high blood pressure more often than whites, and it tends to occur earlier and be more severe.
• Heredity — If your parents or other close blood relatives have high blood pressure, you're more likely to develop it.
• Age — In general, the older you get, the greater your chance of developing high blood pressure. It occurs most often in people over age 35. A higher percentage of men have high blood pressure until age of 45. From 45-64 the percentages of men and women with high blood pressure are similar after that, a much higher percentage of women than men have high blood pressure.

 Learn more about high blood pressure and the increased risk of stroke.

©2006 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.