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In recent years changes in lifestyle and diet in the majority of western countries have resulted in an increase in the number of people suffering from high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (otherwise known as hypertension, or more accurately arterial hypertension) is a dangerous condition that seldom shows any symptoms and which, if left undetected and untreated, can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which represents a serious life-threatening condition.

So precisely what is hypertension and precisely what causes it?

The arteries within the body are constantly filled with blood that produces a normal 'background' pressure against the walls of the arteries. As your heart pumps freshly oxygenated blood around the body it forces this blood into the arteries which briefly raises the pressure on the walls of the arteries during every beat of the heart. These two pressures are referred to as the systolic pressure (the higher pressure as the heart is pumping) and the diastolic pressure (the reduced normal or 'background' pressure).

Normal levels of blood pressure vary from one individual to the next but, on average, systolic pressure ought to be in the region of 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure should be around 80 mm Hg. This is frequently shown as a pressure of 120/80.

When your blood pressure starts to rise and remains at a level above 120/80 then you are said to be 'prehypertensive' and, while this is not serious in itself, it is a sign that you might be at risk of developing hypertension and the problems which are linked with it. If your blood pressure rises to, and maintains, a level of 140/90 or higher then you are said to be suffering from hypertension and steps need to be taken to reduce your blood pressure.

But just what causes your blood pressure to rise and stay at a high level?

Well, there are several factors at play here and to start there is a group over which you have little, if any, control. This group of factors includes low weight at birth, a variety of genetic factors, certain forms of diabetes (in particular type 2 diabetes) and your age (as we grow older our arteries have a tendency to become fibrous and lose their elasticity, resulting in a reduced cross-sectional area for the blood to flow through).

The second group of factors is much more within your control and includes a sedentary lifestyle, high quantities of salt and saturated fats in the diet, being overweight, smoking tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption, stress and employment in specific occupations like motorway maintenance or flying.

Most of these factors are of course treatable and, in many cases, a simple change in your eating habits and the addition of a little exercise into your daily routine is all that is needed to solve the problem. However, the difficulty is that, without any real symptoms, most people do not know that they are suffering from high blood pressure to start with.

So how can you solve the problem?

Luckily the answer to this question is fairly simple. All you need to do is to drop by your physician's office on a regular basis (a couple of times a year should do the trick) and ask him/her to check your blood pressure for you. The whole process is pain free, simple and quick and will provide you with peace of mind and could save your doctor a lot of work, time and expense later on when you are forced to present yourself at his office once hypertension sets in.

If you are not too keen on calling in to see your doctor then one excellent alternative nowadays is to simply monitor your own blood pressure at home. A number of easy to operate and quite inexpensive blood pressure monitors are now available, allowing you to check your own health, and that of your whole family, in the privacy and comfort of your own home.