High blood pressure is usually asymptomatic. The only sure way to find out if you have it is to measure it with a device called a sphygmomanometer. It has gauges and rubber cuffs that wrap around your arms and legs.

 The person measuring the blood pressure wraps the cuff around their upper arm. Some cuffs wrap around the forearm or wrist but are usually less sensitive.

 A doctor or nurse uses a stethoscope to hear the pulse-produced sounds appear and disappear in the elbow area. This is how systolic and diastolic blood pressure are determined. inflation

 The cuff tightens the area around the arm from systolic blood pressure to a higher pressure. Then they release. When the cuff contracts, the first sound you hear on the stethoscope is systolic blood pressure. It sounds like a swoosh. The point where this sound disappears indicates diastolic blood pressure.

 When measuring blood pressure, the systolic value always comes first, followed by the diastolic value.

 Blood pressure measurement is painless and takes only a few minutes.

 Blood pressure (BP) is classified by the American Heart Association as:

 Normal blood pressure:

 Systolic blood pressure is below 120 mmHg. diastole under 80 years old

 Hypertension: Systole is 120-129 mmHg. diastole under 80 years old

 Stage 1 hypertension: systolic measurements are between 130 and 139 mmHg, and diastolic measurements are between 8089.

 Stage 2 hypertension: systole 140 or greater or diastole 90 or greater

 Health care providers may order tests to determine the cause of high blood pressure and to evaluate the damage that high blood pressure or its treatment has done to organs. These tests may include:

•  Blood tests (to assess kidney involvement), including measurement of electrolyte, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine levels
•  Lipid profile for various cholesterol levels
•  Special tests for adrenal gland or thyroid gland hormones
•  Urine tests for electrolytes and hormones
•  A noninvasive, painless eye examination with an ophthalmoscope will look for ocular damage.

 Ultrasound of the kidneys, CT scan of the abdomen, or both to assess for damage or enlargement of the kidneys and adrenal glands

 Any of the following may be done to detect damage to the heart or blood vessels:

 The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a noninvasive test that detects the electrical activity of the heart and records it on paper. The EKG is useful for evaluating heart muscle damage such as heart attack and/or heart wall/muscle thickening/hypertrophy, common complications of high blood pressure.

 An echocardiogram is an ultrasound examination of the heart taken from the chest. Sound waves take a picture of the beating and beating heart and then transmit these images to a video monitor. An echocardiogram can detect heart-related problems such as enlargement, abnormalities in the movement of the heart wall, blood clots, and heart valve abnormalities. It also gives a good measure of the strength of the heart muscle (ejection fraction). Echocardiography is more comprehensive than EKG, but it is also more expensive. flat chest