Rehab Medical

Health information

Blood pressure

High blood pressure is diagnosed from repeated, properly taken readings — not from one number on a bad day. In clinic the threshold is 140/90; at home it is 135/85, because home readings run lower. It causes no symptoms at all until it causes a stroke, a heart attack or kidney failure, which is exactly why it has to be measured rather than felt. Around three in ten Egyptian adults have it, and roughly a third of those do not know.

When it cannot wait

Signs that mean today

These are not reasons to book an appointment. They are reasons to be seen now, or to call an ambulance on 123.

  • Face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech, or sudden loss of vision — call an ambulance on 123. Stroke treatment is measured in minutes.
  • Central chest pain or pressure, especially spreading to the jaw or arm, or with sweating and breathlessness — emergency department, not an appointment.
  • A very high reading (roughly 180/120 or above) together with chest pain, breathlessness, a severe headache, confusion or visual changes — that is a hypertensive emergency; be seen the same hour.
  • In pregnancy: a bad headache, visual flashes, upper abdominal pain or sudden swelling of the face and hands — this is assessed the same day, whatever the reading.

When to book

Reasons to be seen

  • A pharmacy or a family member's machine gave you a high reading, even once. One high reading is not a diagnosis, but it is a reason to measure properly.
  • You are on treatment and your home readings are still above target, or they have dropped so low you feel dizzy standing up.
  • A side effect is bothering you — a dry cough, ankle swelling, tiredness. There are several drug families; we can almost always find one that suits you.
  • You are planning a pregnancy, or are pregnant, and take blood-pressure medicine — some are unsafe and must be swapped before conception, not after.

Published data

Blood pressure in Egypt

≈3 in 10
Egyptian adults live with high blood pressureRecent national estimates cluster around 29–30%, though studies range widely. High blood pressure causes no symptoms until it causes damage — a two-minute measurement is the whole test.Source: Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, WHO EMRO, 2022
35.7%
of Egyptian adults are living with obesityWeight is the single biggest driver of the diabetes and blood-pressure numbers on this page — and the one most open to change with steady, unglamorous support.Source: Egypt STEPS survey, ages 15–69 (WHO, Ministry of Health and Population, CAPMAS), 2017

What a visit looks like

What a visit for this involves

  • 25–30 minutesClinic visitAt the clinic, unhurried
  • 20 minutesVideo consultationFrom anywhere in Egypt
  • 15 minutesFollow-upAfter a recent visit, same complaint

In the room

What the doctor checks

  1. A measurement done properly: seated and quiet for five minutes, back supported, arm at heart level, correct cuff size, and two readings a minute apart. Most 'high blood pressure' that turns out to be normal was measured badly.
  2. A search for the causes we can remove — salt intake, weight, alcohol, painkillers taken regularly, decongestants, and untreated snoring with daytime sleepiness.
  3. Baseline blood and urine tests: kidney function, potassium and sodium, glucose, cholesterol — plus an ECG. These decide which medicine is right, not just whether you need one.
  4. Your total cardiovascular risk, not the number alone. The same 145/90 means something different at 35 than it does at 65 with diabetes.

Come prepared

What to bring

  • Your home monitor, if you have one — we check it against ours, and we show you how to use it properly. An unchecked machine is a guess.
  • A week of home readings if you already take them: morning and evening, written down with the date.
  • All your medicines, including painkillers and anything you buy over the counter — several of them raise blood pressure quietly.

Next step

Tell us what's happening and we'll arrange the right kind of visit.

Message the clinic on WhatsApp. We reply with the times that are free and what the visit costs, before you agree to anything.

Book on WhatsApp

At home

Between visits

  • Measure at home twice a day for a week before each review, then stop. Continuous measuring raises anxiety and rarely changes the plan.
  • Salt is the lever that moves most here — the bread, the pickles, the processed cheese and the stock cubes, far more than the salt shaker on the table.
  • Take the tablet at the same time daily, and never stop because you feel well — feeling well is what successful treatment feels like.

Before you write

Questions patients ask

Written and clinically reviewed by Dr. Rehab Ahmed, MBBCh, Ain Shams University · Diploma in Family Medicine. Last reviewed August 2026.

What this page is based on

This page is general information written by the practice. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace seeing a doctor. In an emergency, call 123.

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