Taking steps to control blood pressure

When your heart pumps blood round your body it produces pressure against the walls of your blood vessels. The force of this pumping is called blood pressure.

If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your arteries and your heart which can eventually lead to heart attack or stroke.

Having high blood pressure which in medical terms is called ‘hypertension’ is not normally something that you feel or notice. It does not tend to produce obvious signs or symptoms.