Everything You Need To Know About High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) If you have high blood pressure, also called hypertension, it means that your heart has to work harder than normal to pump blood through your arteries. This can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. The good news is that there are things you can do to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of these diseases. If you have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, it means that your blood is flowing through your arteries at a higher than normal pressure. This can put a strain on your artery walls and damage them over time. High blood pressure is a serious condition that can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Many different factors can contribute to high blood pressure, such as genetics, obesity, stress, smoking, and too much salt in your diet. If you have high blood pressure, it's important to make lifestyle changes to lower your numbers and