Intro: Welcome back to another episode of Ask a Scientist. I’m Tanesha Nicole here with Dr. George Mensah from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at NIH to talk about high blood pressure.  

TN: Dr. Mensah, why should we care about blood pressure—especially high blood pressure? 

GM: High blood pressure is important because it affects so many vital organs. 

TN: What is a “normal” blood pressure? 
 
GM: For most adults an ideal blood pressure is less than 120 over 80. And the blood pressure is said to be high when on three or more occasions your numbers are higher than 140 over 90. 
 
TN: And why are those numbers important? 

GM: Knowing the numbers gives you the opportunity to protect your vital organs –  your heart, your blood vessels, your kidney, your brain and even your eyes. 

TN: So really, really, really important that we pay attention, get our blood pressure measured and know our blood pressure numbers. 
 
Outro: For more on high blood pressure, visit nhlbi.nih.gov.