If you want to see more scientifically accurate 3D medical images, please subscribe to our channel: /nucleushealthvideose High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common condition in which the force of blood on the walls of your arteries is too high. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart to supply your tissues with oxygen and nutrients. In your heart, two chambers called ventricles contract with each heartbeat to push blood into your lungs and through your arteries to your body. As blood flows through them, 3 main factors affect the pressure in your artery walls. The first is cardiac output, or the amount of blood your ventricles push out of your heart each minute. Your blood pressure goes up as cardiac output increases. The second factor that affects your blood pressure is blood volume, or the total amount of blood in your body. Blood pressure also goes up as blood volume increases. The third factor that affects your blood pressure is resistance, which is anything that works against the flow of blood through your arteries. Several factors contribute to resistance, one resistance factor is the flexibility of your artery wall. Healthy arteries expand with each heartbeat to reduce blood pressure on the wall. Another resistance factor is the diameter of your arteries; your body is able to increase the diameter of your arteries to lower your blood pressure or reduce the diameter to raise your blood pressure. A third resistance factor is blood viscosity or thickening; more particles, such as proteins and fats, in your blood increase the viscosity. If your blood is thicker your blood pressure rises as your heart works harder to push it through your arteries. Your blood pressure can be measured with a device called a sphygmomanometer or blood pressure cuff. When your heart beats, the pressure of the blood on the walls of your arteries is called systolic pressure, when your heart relaxes between beats the pressure on the artery wall is called diastolic pressure. While your blood pressure can change throughout the day, it should ideally be less than 120 mm of mercury for systolic pressure and less than 80 mm of mercury for diastolic pressure. If your systolic pressure frequently stays above 130 or your diastolic pressure frequently stays above 80, you have high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure will damage the walls of your arteries. Your artery wall can weaken and form a growth called an aneurysm, or the wall can burst and bleed into the surrounding tissue. Tiny tears in your artery wall can attract certain substances in your blood, such as cholesterol, fats, and calcium, to form a buildup called plaque. Blood flow through your artery decreases as plaque enlarges. Blood cells can stick to the plaque and form solid mounds called clots, reducing or completely blocking your blood flow. Damage to your arteries raises your blood pressure even more, making your heart beat harder. Arterial damage and reduced blood flow can lead to conditions such as stroke, heart attack, or kidney disease. In most cases, high blood pressure or hypertension is unknown; this type of high blood pressure is called primary or essential hypertension. Treatment for essential hypertension includes lifestyle changes such as eating a healthy diet. If you are sensitive to sodium in salt, your doctor may recommend limiting your intake of salt and highly processed foods. Sodium can cause your body to retain water, which increases both your blood volume and blood pressure. Other lifestyle changes that can lower blood pressure include avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, getting regular exercise, losing weight if you are overweight, and quitting smoking. Your doctor may also recommend medications that act on your kidneys, blood vessels, or heart to help lower your blood pressure. Diuretics, commonly called water pills, cause your kidneys to move more salt and water from your blood into your urine, which lowers your volume and blood pressure. Beta blockers reduce the workload on your heart by slowing the rate of your heartbeat and the force of your heart's contractions. The various types of medications act directly or indirectly to lower your blood pressure by relaxing your blood vessels which increases their diameter. ANH13100