Hypertension or high blood pressure is a medical condition wherein the blood pressure is chronically elevated. While it is formally called arterial hypertension, the word hypertension without a qualifier usually refers to arterial hypertension. Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure. - taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension A stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is an acute neurologic injury whereby the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted. Stroke can also be said to be a syndrome of sudden loss of neuronal function due to disturbance in cerebral perfusion. This disturbance in perfusion is commonly on the arterial side of the circulation, but can be on the venous side. The part of the brain with disturbed perfusion can no longer receive adequate oxygen carried by the blood; brain cells are therefore damaged or die, impairing function from that part of the brain. Stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurologic damage or even death if not promptly diagnosed and treated. It is the third leading cause of death and adult disability in the US and industrialized European nations. On average, a stroke occurs every 45 seconds and someone dies every 3 minutes. Of every 5 deaths from stroke, 2 occur in men and 3 in women. Risk factors include advanced age, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, and cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoking is the most important modifiable risk factor of stroke. -taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke