High blood pressure (hypertension) is the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Hence, in 2002, it was named ‘the number one killer’ by the World Health Organization (WHO) in The World Health Report.
In short, the risk of stroke is four times greater and the risk of myocardial infarction (a heart attack) two times greater if you have high compared with normal blood pressure. This risk increases the higher the level of a person’s blood pressure.