high blood pressure

Meaning

1. 1noununcountablemedical

   A condition in which the force of blood on the walls of the arteries stays higher than it should, raising the risk of heart disease.

   Grammar: Uncountable: he has high blood pressure, not a high blood pressure.

   Patterns

   • suffer from high blood pressure
   • treat high blood pressure

   My father takes tablets for high blood pressure.

   Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure.

   Many people have high blood pressure without knowing it.

Common combinations

have high blood pressure

She has high blood pressure and checks it at home.

suffer from high blood pressure

He suffers from high blood pressure.

treat high blood pressure

Medication can treat high blood pressure.

risk of high blood pressure

Stress adds to the risk of high blood pressure.

lower high blood pressure

Exercise can help to lower high blood pressure.

Synonyms and how they differ

hypertension

Hypertension is the formal medical word for the same condition and is used by doctors and in health writing.

raised blood pressure

Raised blood pressure can describe a temporary rise, whereas high blood pressure usually means an ongoing condition.

elevated blood pressure

Elevated blood pressure is a more clinical phrase, sometimes meaning a reading just above normal.

Opposites

Word family

blood pressure noun

the force of blood on artery walls

hypertension noun

the medical term for high blood pressure

hypertensive adjective

having or relating to high blood pressure

pressure noun

the force pressing on something

Commonly confused: high blood pressure or high pressure?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “high blood pressure”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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