He says the plan is to set up testing in the near future. In those trials, he says, cocaine addicts ideally should lose their interest and need for the drug.

The heart is our life force. It pumps blood, carrying oxygen to every organ in the body. As the blood flows through the blood vessels, it puts pressure on the vessel walls.

That pressure is often measured when you go to see a doctor or a health care worker. Blood pressure readings are often taken with a cuff, or restraint, tightened around the upper arm.

George Thomas is with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

“When you go to the doctor, you may see that the blood pressure is reported as two numbers. So there’s an upper number, which is called a systolic blood pressure, and there’s a lower number that is called a diastolic pressure.”

The upper number shows the pressure inside the blood vessels when the heart is pumping. The lower number shows the pressure when the heart rests between beats.

Stephen Havas is with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He says both numbers are important.

“Any level above 115 systolic or 75 diastolic increases risk. Each 20 millimeters systolic that you go above that 115, your risk doubles.”

Higher numbers are evidence of hypertension, the word that doctors use for high blood pressure. Hypertension is a major cause of heart disease, stroke and death.