Find a Blood Drive
Find a Blood Drive
High blood pressure affects almost half the adult population in the United States. This common condition causes blood to flow through your arteries at higher-than-normal pressures.
The higher your blood pressure levels, the harder your heart must work to pump blood, which may cause injury to the heart, kidneys and other vital organs. It can also increase your risk for other serious health problems like heart failure, heart attack, kidney failure and stroke.
There is only one way to know if you have high blood pressure – and that is to check your blood pressure regularly. A health care provider can diagnose high blood pressure by reviewing your systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. It is usually necessary for providers to have more than one blood pressure reading to diagnose hypertension. Viewing multiple measurements taken at blood drives and other community locations over time can help your health care provider make their assessment and draw attention to an emerging issue sooner.
In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association published new guidelines for hypertension management following the results of an important clinical trial and defined high blood pressure as readings at or above 130/80 mmHg, as seen in the table below.
High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because it usually has no warning signs or symptoms. People can have high blood pressure for years without any symptoms – even when blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels or injury is occurring gradually over time.
High blood pressure usually develops over time and becomes more common as we age. Contributing factors may include smoking cigarettes, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity and/or having a family history of hypertension. Certain health conditions, such as being overweight or having diabetes, may also increase your chances of developing hypertension.
Maintaining your heart health is a lifelong commitment. In addition to following the guidance of your physician or health care provider, here are a few steps people can take that may lower their risk of developing high blood pressure:
Eat a well-balanced diet with less salt
Participate in regular physical activity
Limit your consumption of alcohol
Quit smoking
Manage your stress
It is safe for most people with high blood pressure to give blood, including those taking high blood pressure medication. Only donors with blood pressure greater than 180/100 mmHg on the day of donation, which indicates an urgent medical issue that should be quickly addressed by a health care provider, are unable to give.
Red Cross blood donors can access blood pressure readings from past donations and view a trend of those readings in the Health Charts section of the Red Cross Blood Donor App or the My Health Screening section of the online Blood Donor Portal.
Many people who have hypertension are able to donate but may not realize that they need to take steps to protect their health. By providing health data to donors, the Red Cross can help them better understand their own health and be alerted to potential issues they were not aware of – helping them to make informed choices about their wellness.
Ready to start your health journey by helping others? Schedule your next blood donation appointment now!
You can also learn more about blood pressure and how to manage hypertension from trusted sources: