A 45-year-old female visited the clinic. She was slightly overweight for her height, and on questioning she was complaining of regular headaches, anxiety, difficulty breathing when stressed, lightheadedness, deteriorating vision and occasional but rare nosebleeds. She had a family history of heart disease and hypertension in both mother and father, but they were generally well until their 60s and 70s.
Diagnostically, there was the possibility that she had the early stages of high blood pressure — probably related to stress — with the slight family susceptibility.
Hypertension or high blood pressure is defined as systolic pressure higher than 130 and diastolic