This Week’s Top Stories from Harvard Health

Which blood pressure number is important?

Q. When I am monitoring my blood pressure, which number is most important — top, bottom, or both?

A. While both numbers in a blood pressure reading are essential for diagnosing and treating high blood pressure, doctors primarily focus on the top number, also known as systolic pressure.

Get your copy of Controlling Your Blood Pressure

An alarming one in three American adults has high blood pressure. Known medically as hypertension, many people don't even know they have it, because high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning signs. But when elevated blood pressure is accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to your arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect and treat. In the Special Health Report, Controlling Your Blood Pressure, find out how to keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully.

Writing a thank-you note is more powerful than you think

Writing thank-you notes is not just good manners. It can have a strong psychological effect for both the sender and receiver, suggests research published recently in Psychological Science. While most people consider showing an expression of gratitude a nice gesture, many people struggle to do it.

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Controlling Your Blood Pressure

Featured content:

•	Blood pressure basics
•	Types of hypertension
•	Are you at risk for high blood pressure?
•	How high blood pressure harms your health
•	Diagnosing high blood pressure
•	... and more!