About Normal Blood Pressure Ranges for Young Males

High blood pressure affects more than 65 million Americans. Younger and younger men are finding themselves on the borderline of being hypertensive. But what is the normal blood pressure for young men, and what can they do to prevent high blood pressure later in life?

Normal and Abnormal

• For men, women, young or old, doctors consider anything above 120/80 to be abnormal. Doctors consider 120-139/80-89 to be borderline hypertensive, and anything over 140/90 is considered high blood pressure.

Risk Factors

• Genetics, diet, activity, diabetes, stress, weight and alcohol abuse can lead to high blood pressure.

Dangers

• You may consider yourself invincible because you're young, but many people go years without knowing they have high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure can cause heart failure, blindness, aneurysms and kidney disease.

Prevention

• While some factors like genetics or disease cannot be changed, many factors of high blood pressure can be eliminated, especially if started early in life. A diet low in salt, moderate exercise and maintaining a healthy weight can go a long way to preventing high blood pressure.

Treatment

• Doctors have a wide variety of medications to treat high blood pressure. Although if your blood pressure gets to the point of needing medication, then you will likely be on them for the remainder of your life.