High blood pressure usually has no signs or symptoms, so the only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have yours measured. However, a single high reading does not necessarily mean you have high blood pressure. Many things can affect your blood pressure through the day, so your doctor will take a number of blood pressure readings to see that it stays high over time.

Occasionally people with very high blood pressure say they experience headaches, but it is best to visit your GP if you are concerned about symptoms.

What causes high blood pressure?
For most people, there may be no single cause for their high blood pressure. We do not know exactly what causes high blood pressure. We do know that your lifestyle can affect your risk of developing it. You are at a higher risk if:

you eat too much salt;
you don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables;
you are not active enough;
you are overweight; or
you drink too much alcohol.
You can help to lower your blood pressure - and your risk of stroke and heart attack - by making lifestyle changes.


Additional causes of high blood pressure
There are some factors that increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, which you cannot control. These include:

Age: as you get older, the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle can build up and your blood pressure can increase.

Ethnic origin: people from African-Caribbean and South Asian communities are at greater risk than other people of high blood pressure.

Family history: you are at greater risk if other members of your family have, or have had, high blood pressure.

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