High blood pressure is one of those health oddities that you can have for several years and not even know you have it. So, what happens when you are diagnosed by the doctor as having high blood pressure or hypertension? To begin with, if you don't know what your blood pressure reading is currently you should have it checked. It is so easy to do. The next time you are at Walgreen's pharmacy, stop over and get it checked at their little booth. It's free and it can help.

High blood pressure is nothing to play around with. Its symptoms can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, kidney failure, strokes and other medical problems.

The normal blood pressure range that is generally acceptable in the medical community is 120-130 over 80-85. But this is just a general guideline and may not apply in all cases. For example, an African-American would have a lower limit in order to be considered normal.

What happens when you are first diagnosed with hypertension?

In most cases your doctor will try and get your blood pressure controlled with lifestyle changes. Things like a better diet regular exercise and eliminating alcohol or tobacco use. Or at least dramatically reduce its use.

In some cases your blood pressure may be so high that other treatment options will also need to be used. This means that you could be put on high blood pressure medication immediately to get it brought down to a normal level.

There are several types of anti-hypertension medications available. Your doctor will take your current health conditions into account in putting you on one of these drugs. The doctor will then monitor you for how well the medicine is working as well as any side effects. You may need to go on a different medication if one is not working right.

In many cases just by making lifestyle changes can bring blood pressure levels back down to normal. But don't feel bad if you find you still need medicine to help reduce these levels. The important thing is that you get the treatment in controlling the problem. It is completely painless and it will certainly add many more years to your life.