High blood pressure (hypertension)

The heart is a pump designed to force blood through our body. Blood is pumped from the heart through the arteries out to our muscles and organs. Pumps work by generating pressure. Put simply, too much pressure puts a strain on the arteries and on the heart itself. This can cause an artery to rupture or the heart to fail under the strain – in the worst case stopping altogether. Blood pressure depends on a combination of two factors: how forcefully the heart pumps blood around the body how narrowed or relaxed your arteriesare. Hypertension occurs when blood is forced through the arteries at an increased pressure. Around 10 million...

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Diabetes overview

What is diabetes? Diabetes affects 2.3 million people in the UK. Diabetes is a condition where the blood sugar level is higher than normal. There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. It is usually seen in young people. Type 2 diabetes - usually non insulin-dependent diabetes. It tends to affect adults over 40 and overweight people. There are also other types of diabetes. Pregnancy diabetes. This is known as gestational diabetes. It's associated with pregnancy and symptoms usually disappear after the birth. If you get gestational diabetes, you have an increased...

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