There is little doubt that hypertension either leads to early death or inflicts serious physical handicaps to millions. Blood pressure may be mildly or moderately elevated for several years without symptoms until the occurrence of stroke, heart attack, or heart failure.
Symptoms may not occur for 5–20 years in the majority of patients with mild and moderate primary hyperten¬sion. Headaches, dizziness, and nose bleeds occur with equal frequency in hypertensives as they do in individuals with normal blood pressure. Some individuals get head¬aches during sudden elevations of blood pressure. Only in a few patients can symptoms be correlated with the height of blood pressure. Because your blood pressure may be very high and yet produce no symptoms, it is necessary to have a blood pressure check once a year or more often if you were ever informed that your blood pressure was above normal.