Your heart will pump blood to your brain and the rest of your body to give it the energy and oxygen that it needs. As blood travels through your vessels (arteries and veins), it pushes against the sides of the blood vessels. The strength of this pushing is your blood pressure.

When your heart beats, the pressure of the blood moving through your vessels will change. In simple terms, the pressure will be at its highest when blood leaves your heart, and at its lowest when it returns before it starts to fill with blood and pump again.

High blood pressure, also known as ‘hypertension’, presents no obvious signs or symptoms and isn’t usually something you would notice or feel. High blood pressure occurs when there is extra strain put onto your blood vessels and on your heart. Over a period of time, this strain will result in your vessels becoming thicker and less flexible which will make it harder for your blood to travel in.

If high blood pressure is left untreated, it can lead to a number of serious, potentially life threatening conditions such as stroke or heart attack.