Health Central: When to See a Doctor for High Blood Pressure: Key Warning Signs

High blood pressure—a.k.a. hypertension—affects almost half of adults in the U.S. Even worse, 40% of those people aren’t aware they have it, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Untreated hypertension is a recipe for stroke, atrial fibrillation, blindness, dementia, kidney failure, and more. But since there often are no symptoms of high blood pressure, it’s easy for it to fly under the radar.

Health Central sat down with cardiologist Tracy Stevens, MD, the medical director of Saint Luke's Muriel I. Kauffman Women’s Heart Center, to discuss warning signs of hypertension and when it's time to see a doctor.

Read their conversation at When to See a Doctor for High Blood Pressure: Key Warning Signs