High Blood Pressure Information for Blood Donors

Blood pressure is the pressure being put on your artery walls as your heart pumps blood throughout your body. Your blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day, depending on activity. If the pressure is consistently too high, it may result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure.

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers (example: 120/80). The first number is your systolic pressure. That measures the maximum pressure being exerted against your artery walls when your heart beats, pumping blood into your arteries. The second number is your diastolic pressure. That measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart is filling with blood.

When a Red Cross staff member measures your blood pressure at the time of donation, they’ll use the measurement format “X over Y.” A normal blood pressure for most adults is less than 120 over 80. The mmHg is the units and stands for “millimeters of mercury.” This is a measure that has been used for a long time and corresponds to the height that a column of mercury would reach in response to the pressure inside the body.

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a common condition where blood flows through your arteries at higher-than-normal pressures, causing the heart to work harder to pump blood and potentially causing injury to your heart and other vital organs. Hypertension is a very common medical condition that increases risks of stroke, heart disease and kidney disease if left untreated.

High blood pressure must be diagnosed by a physician or health care provider. While the Red Cross provides information to help diagnose high blood pressure, it is important for individuals to see a health care provider for formal diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

Untreated, high blood pressure slowly causes injury to many of the organs in the body. As a result of this, ongoing high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and diseases resulting from damage to blood vessels, such as retinal disease, aneurysms and dementia.

A hypertensive crisis is a severe increase in blood pressure. According to the American Heart Association, the blood pressure reading is greater than 180/120 mmHg. A hypertensive crisis is a medical emergency that can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other life-threatening health problems without prompt treatment.

High blood pressure is a common medical condition that affects approximately half of all adults in the United States. All donors with high blood pressure would benefit from taking steps to reduce their blood pressure. In addition, it is known that individuals who are African American are at higher risk for high blood pressure overall, as well as for the development of high blood pressure earlier in life, and more severe high blood pressure, compared to people of other backgrounds. African Americans are also at higher risk of suffering from the health consequences of untreated high blood pressure, such as kidney failure and heart disease.

It has been recognized by the American College of Cardiology that a combination of genetic and social factors, as well as variable medication response and adherence, reduced access to health care and other factors all contribute to racial disparities in hypertension. As a result of these prevailing health disparities across our country, individuals who are African American are more likely to be at risk for more severe forms of high blood pressure and may develop high blood pressure while they are relatively young. African Americans are also most likely to have high blood pressure despite treatment, in part due to reduced effect of some types of blood pressure medication, but also because more than one medication may be needed. In some cases, there may be barriers to receiving medication, as well.

The Red Cross values the health and well-being of its blood donors across the country and desires to play an active role in the broader care of our communities. We applaud the generosity of thousands of individuals who donate blood and believe the Red Cross has a responsibility to give back to those who so selflessly roll up a sleeve. The Red Cross can help donors to better understand their own health and wellness and be alerted to potential health issues they were not aware of, thereby helping individuals make informed choices about their health. Sharing health data also helps the Red Cross gain awareness of specific health needs of communities and may help us understand which communities may need additional resources.

While high blood pressure is easy to detect, unfortunately, physicians believe high blood pressure is significantly both underdiagnosed and undertreated in the U.S. It is our hope that by providing potentially lifesaving health information to our blood donors, we can help bridge existing gaps in care. Many treatments for hypertension are safe, well-tolerated, relatively inexpensive and widely available. Fortunately, when high blood pressure is adequately treated, the serious health risks, such as kidney and heart diseases, are greatly reduced and may be avoided.

It is safe for individuals who have well-managed high blood pressure to give blood. Individuals are also not deferred for high blood pressure medication. The Red Cross only defers donors with blood pressure greater than 180/100 mmHg, when hypertension should be quickly addressed by a health care provider. If you are deferred for high blood pressure, you will also be given an information sheet at your blood donation.

Yes, donor health information is stored in the donor’s health history record and available to each individual in a secure platform through the Red Cross Blood Donor App or online Blood Donor Portal.

In the Blood Donor App, individuals can go to the Health Charts button. From there, individuals can go to the charts tab which allows each donor to see their blood pressure trends over time and share this information with their provider. Donors can also scroll to the health history tab to view their health vitals by visit. For online accounts, visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/my-account Click the My Health Screening on the left navigation bar to see your most recent vitals and the health vitals chart. If you click See My Donation History on the left navigation bar, you can see past appointments listed. Below each appointment date there is a + that can be clicked to see the vitals by date.