Blood Pressure Toolkit

It's important to know how to check it correctly, especially if your doctor has recommended that you regularly monitor your blood pressure.

Let's Talk About Blood Pressure

Almost half of American adults have high blood pressure, and many don’t know it. Most of the time high blood pressure (HBP, or hypertension) has no obvious symptoms to indicate that something is wrong, but HBP can lead to heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.

To help the community be aware of the risks and make changes that matter, the AHA created the eLearning micromodules Let’s Talk About Blood Pressure.

The online modules take about 15 minutes to complete and bring awareness to the problem, explain blood pressure numbers in a way that is easily understood, present lifestyle and other treatments to lower and manage high blood pressure, and provide support in sharing this information with others in their family and community.

It’s important to know about blood pressure and how to keep it in the healthy range. High blood pressure (HBP, or hypertension) is a symptomless “silent killer” that quietly damages blood vessels and leads to serious health problems.

While there is no cure, using medications as prescribed and making lifestyle changes can enhance your quality of life and reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and more.

Patient Resources

BP Raisers (PDF)

Blood Pressure Brochure (PDF)

What is High Blood Pressure Medicine? (PDF)

Why Should I Limit Sodium? (PDF)

Health Care Professional Resources

The 2017 Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults (2017 Hypertension Clinical Practice Guideline) has important implications for the treatment of nearly half of adults in the United States. As health care professionals, you need resources to help you integrate the new guideline into your practice so you can provide optimal care for patients with elevated hypertension.