There's a good reason most healthcare provider visits start with a blood pressure check. While nearly half of all American adults have high blood pressure, many don't know it. That's because you can have high blood pressure and still feel fine. Usually, it doesn't cause obvious symptoms.

Here are six more facts to know about this widespread condition.

3. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80. Elevated blood pressure is a systolic pressure of 120-129 and a diastolic pressure of less than 80. High blood pressure is a systolic pressure of 130 or higher or a diastolic pressure of 80 or higher that stays high over time.

4. Family history and race are risk factors. If your parents or a close blood relative had high blood pressure, you're more likely to get it too. And African Americans tend to develop high blood pressure more than any other racial group in the U.S.

5. Your lifestyle choices matter. For instance, an unhealthy diet (especially one that's high in sodium) can make blood pressure creep up. So can being inactive or overweight or drinking alcohol. The good news: Healthy habits can help prevent high blood pressure. And they can bring it down when it's high.

6. Medicine may also be a part of treatment. If your provider wants you to take blood pressure medicine, use it exactly as prescribed. Taking a pill every other day or splitting it in two to make the medicine last longer is risky. And remember: High blood pressure medicine is never a substitute for healthy habits.

Your Watson Clinic Family Medicine or Internal Medicine physician can help you keep your blood pressure under control.  Additionally, Watson Clinic's team of board-certified nephrologists also treat high blood pressure, as the condition can lead to chronic kidney disease and other kidney disorders if left unmanaged.

Sources: American Heart Association; National Institutes of Health