Thanks for this site, and thanks to everyone here.

I am 38 years old, and I have never had any kind of major health problem.  I've always been in great health.  A couple of weeks ago I went to an orthopedic surgeon who is a friend of mine for some shoulder pain and the nurse routinely checked my blood pressure which was 195/125.  I made an appt. with a general practitioner and my blood pressure was the same then too. 

I am completely in the dark about this stuff, so you can be sure I will be spending some time on this site.  I am very concerned though, because I am 2 years older than my father when he had his first heart attack... he died at the age of 46 when he had his 3rd major heart attack.

I am comforted already, just finding this site, and reading over the past 30 minutes.  I'm sure many of you have already been through the initial anxiety after finding out you have high blood pressure and the dangers associated with it, but right now, I am concerned about my health for the first time ever.  Thank you all for making that anxiety a little easier to bear.