High blood pressure

[Springcatkin]

My doctor says my blood pressure is high and wants to give me tablets but I dont know WHY high blood pressure is an issue - can anyone tell me?
My bp is generally around 155/105 +-5
Thanks

From the nhs website:

Risks of high blood pressure

If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs, such as the brain, kidneys and eyes.

Persistent high blood pressure can increase your risk of a number of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as:

heart disease
heart attacks
strokes
heart failure
peripheral arterial disease
aortic aneurysms
kidney disease
vascular dementia
If you have high blood pressure, reducing it even a small amount can help lower your risk of these health conditions.

Well no one can say for certain but things like this can be why

Smoking.
Being overweight or obese.
Lack of physical activity.
Too much salt in the diet.
Too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
Stress.
Older age.
Genetics

But who knows why an individual person has it

TBH I'm surprised your GP didn't tell you. One of my friends is a doctor, and she told me that the biggest risk factor for heart attacks and strokes is high blood pressure.

If your GP says you need to medicate to get your blood pressure down then please take the tablets. There is no way I would want to risk a stroke or heart attack, let alone during a pandemic.