High blood pressure

One of the most common conditions underwriters are exposed to is high blood pressure. It is the pressure of blood inside the arteries that constantly rises and falls, in a cycle, as the heart pumps blood throughout the body. It comes in varying guises; including raised blood pressure, hypertension, white coat hypertension and essential hypertension - all essentially describing the same thing. Blood pressure is recorded as two figures - for example 140/80 mmHg, described as "140 over 80". These two figures signify the pressure of the blood in the arteries at two specific times. The top fig...