The blood pressure secret: everything you need to know to improve yours – and live a longer, healthier life

<p>It is known as ‘the silent killer’, because many people suffer from high blood pressure without even being aware of it. Here is where your numbers should be, and how to change them for the better</p><p>The older you get, and the more obsessed with your health, the more it feels as if life comes down to numbers: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/24/underactive-overindulging-40s-now-im-trying-to-live-to-100">how many more years you can expect</a>; your lean body mass; your percentage of visceral fat; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/06/the-strong-bone-secret-can-you-avoid-or-even-reverse-osteoporosis">how dense your bones are</a>; how many kilos you can squat; how long you can <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/aug/04/the-dead-hang-delight-how-this-quick-surprisingly-simple-exercise-can-change-your-life">deadhang</a>; how often <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/mar/09/were-having-way-better-sex-than-our-kids-the-joy-of-lovemaking-in-your-70s">you still </a><em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/mar/09/were-having-way-better-sex-than-our-kids-the-joy-of-lovemaking-in-your-70s">do it</a></em>; your levels of LDL and HDL cholesterol; your resting heart rate; your overnight blood oxygen level; how quickly you can run; how many steps you do in a day; how many hours you sleep; how fast you are shrinking; how often you get up to pee.</p><p>I say <em>you</em>, of course, but what I mean is <em>me</em>. I fixate on all those things and more. Do you want to know my vascular age as calculated by my smart scales? I will tell you. The point is that some of these numbers matter more than others. And one that definitely belongs in the you-should-give-a-toss column is blood pressure (BP).&l