Secondary Hypertension

Secondary hypertension happens when you have high blood pressure that is caused by a known disease or condition. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a common condition that is characterized by having a higher amount of pressure in your blood vessels than normal.

Blood pressure is typically measured with an inflatable cuff that is placed around your arm. When taking your blood pressure, your healthcare provider is looking for two measurements:

• Systolic blood pressure: Blood vessel pressure during a heart beat
• Diastolic blood pressure: Blood vessel pressure between heart beats

The two measurements are listed together, systolic on top of diastolic. A normal blood pressure measurement is less than 120/80. Once your blood pressure rises above this measurement, your healthcare provider will start to monitor you for high blood pressure. It’s a condition that can be treated.

High blood pressure that doesn’t have a known cause is called essential or primary hypertension. In contrast, secondary hypertension has a known cause.

How common is secondary hypertension?

Because secondary hypertension is rare, occurring in only 5 to 10 percent of the population, it is not always discovered. Testing for secondary hypertension can be expensive, so your healthcare provider will typically wait to begin testing until they strongly suspect secondary hypertension.