Generally speaking, blood pressure readings that are consistently 140 over 90, or higher, over a number of weeks qualify as “high blood pressure”. High blood pressure, or “hypertension” puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. Overtime, this extra strain increases dramatically increases risk of a heart attack or stroke, which constitute the major causes of death in Australia. High blood pressure can also cause heart and kidney disease, and is closely linked to some forms of dementia. The danger of hypertension is that it often presents without symptoms, and in some cases, the first sign of high blood pressure is a stroke that leaves the victim permanently disabled. Although several conditions can cause secondary high blood pressure, such as kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and hormone abnormalities, often a high-stress lifestyle leads to “essential” hypertension, where there is no disease-specific cause.