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Over the past few years alterations to the diet and lifestyle in many western countries have caused an increase in the number of people with high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (which is otherwise referred to as hypertension, or more properly arterial hypertension) can be a serious condition which rarely shows any symptoms and that, if left undetected and untreated, can result in stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arterial aneurysm or renal failure - any one of which represents a serious life-threatening condition.

So exactly what is hypertension and precisely what causes it?

The arteries within your body are continuously filled with blood that exerts a normal 'background' pressure on the artery walls. As the heart pumps freshly oxygenated blood around the body it forces this blood into the arteries which momentarily raises the pressure exerted on the artery walls with each beat of the heart. These two pressures are called the systolic pressure (the higher pressure as the heart pumps) and the diastolic pressure (the reduced 'background' pressure).

Normal blood pressure differs from one individual to the next but, in general, systolic pressure should be approximately 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure should be about 80 mm Hg. This is frequently expressed as a blood pressure of 120/80.

When your blood pressure starts to rise and stays above 120/80 then you are described as being 'prehypertensive' and, although this is not serious in itself, it is a sign that you may be at risk of developing hypertension and the problems associated with it. As soon as your blood pressure reaches, and maintains, a level of 140/90 or higher then you are said to be suffering from hypertension and action needs to be taken to lower your blood pressure.

So just what makes you blood pressure rise and stay at a high level?

Well, there are numerous factors involved here and to start there is a group over which you have little, if any, control. This group includes a low birth weight, a number 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, creating a smaller cross-sectional area through which the blood can flow).

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

The vast majority of these factors are treatable and, in a lot of cases, a simple change in your eating habits and the addition of a little exercise into your daily diary is all that is necessary to solve the problem. However, the difficulty is that, without any real symptoms, the majority of people are not aware that they have hypertension to start with.

So how can you go about solving the problem?

Luckily the answer to this particular question is fairly simple. All you have to do is to drop by your doctor's office regularly (for most of us about twice a year should do the trick) and ask him/her to check your blood pressure. The whole process is painless, easy and fast and will give you peace of mind and may save your doctor a lot of work, time and expense down the road when you are forced to present yourself at his office once high blood pressure sets in.

If you are not all that keen on calling in to see your doctor then an excellent alternative today is to simply check your own blood pressure at home. A wide range of simple to operate and reasonably inexpensive blood pressure monitors are now available, allowing you to maintain a check on your own health, and the health of of your entire family, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.