High blood pressure can lead to heart attack or stroke. “The heart pumps blood and then relaxes. With every beat when it pumps, the blood pressure goes up and then slightly comes down,” says Sibghat Tul Llah, M.D., a cardiologist at CHI St. Vincent. “We have two blood pressures. One is the upper blood pressure, which is called the systolic blood pressure. Usually normal people are around 120. And the lower number is referred to as the diastolic blood pressure. And it’s usually around 80.” If your blood pressure is higher than 130 over 80, you have high blood pressure. “If your blood pressure is elevated – around 160 for the upper – or if you are 90 or 100 for the lower, it needs to be treated. Because it will affect all your organs, so this is why it is referred to as the ‘silent killer.’”

Learn more about heart care at CHI St. Vincent.