High blood pressure is a term that is used to acknowledge that a person’s blood pressure is above what is considered normal. High blood pressure is also called hypertension.

Measuring somebody’s blood pressure gives us an indication of how effectively their heart is working to pump blood around their body. If their heart and blood vessels are working efficiently, then their blood pressure will be normal or slightly below normal. If their heart is having to work very hard to pump blood around their body, then their blood pressure will be high.