There are few, if any, symptoms of early stage high blood pressure. The only way to know if you have it is to measure your resting blood pressure or have it measured at the doctor’s office. Usually, a single high blood pressure reading usually isn’t enough to diagnose high blood pressure. Your doctor may ask you to record your blood pressure at home at different times during the day to confirm that your high blood pressure is not just due to anxiety as a result of your visit to the doctor’s office.

Most drug stores and pharmacies sell models of blood pressure monitors that measure your blood pressure automatically. The most reliable ones are inflatable arm cuff blood pressure monitors. Your doctor can advise you on the type of blood pressure monitor to purchase. However, if you want to buy one on your own to monitor your blood pressure, make sure you get a model with an appropriately sized arm cuff. If you have very large or very thin arms an “average” arm cuff could give you incorrect readings.

• Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg.
• Prehypertension is a systolic pressure ranging from 120 to 139 or a diastolic pressure ranging from 80 to 89.
• Stage 1 hypertension is a systolic pressure ranging from 140 to 159 or a diastolic pressure ranging from 90 to 99.
• Stage 2 hypertension is a systolic pressure of 160 or higher or a diastolic pressure of 100 or higher.

For some people, blood pressure readings lower than 140/90 may be a more appropriate normal cut-off level. For example, in certain situations, such as in patients with long duration (chronic) kidney diseases that spill (lose) protein into the urine (proteinuria), the blood pressure is ideally kept at 130/80, or even lower. Also, a relatively large increase in blood pressure in people (e.g. athletes) that normally have lower blood pressure (but is still under 140/90) may be of concern.