Health Topics: High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is a measure of how hard the blood pushes against the walls of your arteries and veins. If the pressure is persistent and excessive, it qualifies as high blood pressure, and can damage the blood vessels, heart, and kidneys. Most of the time, there are no hypertension symptoms. But symptoms that may occur include chest pain, ear noise or buzzing, and an irregular heartbeat. High blood pressure causes can be related to how much water and salt you have in your body, and the condition of your kidneys, nervous system, and blood vessels.