Condition
Hypertension - essential
David Cohen, M.D.Published 3 March 20051 min read
Key points
- As blood is pumped through your body, it exerts pressure on the walls of your arteries.
- The systolic blood pressure is the pressure against these walls when the heart contracts, and the diastolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart relaxes.
- When you get a blood pressure reading, you are told the systolic pressure/diastolic pressure.
Alternative names
Essential hypertension
Definition
As blood is pumped through your body, it exerts pressure on the walls of your arteries. The systolic blood pressure is the pressure against these walls when the heart contracts, and the diastolic blood pressure is the pressure when the heart relaxes. When you get a blood pressure reading, you are told the systolic pressure/diastolic pressure.
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
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