Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Each time your heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure is highest when your heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. The readings have two numbers, for example 140/90mmHg. The top number is your systolic blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you might avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication. Your blood pressure reading is usually given as the systolic blood pressure number over the diastolic blood pressure number. Normal bp is marked as 120/80 mm/hg. High blood pressure (HBP) is considered a silent killer. It sneaks up on you, carries no symptoms and can put you at risk for heart disease. When someone has hypertension (high blood pressure), the heart has to pump harder and the arteries are under more strain as they carry blood. Blood pressure is one of the vital signs that doctors measure to assess general health. Blood pressure, force originating in the pumping action of the heart, exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels.