Blood Pressure

Check if you're at risk of high blood pressure

High blood pressure is very common, especially in older adults. There are usually no symptoms, so you may not realise you have it.

Things that increase your chances of having high blood pressure include:

• your age – you're more likely to get high blood pressure as you get older
• having close relatives with high blood pressure
• your ethnicity – you're at higher risk if you have a Black African, Black Caribbean or South Asian ethnic background
• having an unhealthy diet – especially a diet that's high in salt
• being overweight
• smoking
• drinking too much alcohol
• feeling stressed over a long period