MINNEAPOLIS — Inside North Market in the Camden neighborhood of North Minneapolis, there is a machine waiting for people to come in and take a few minutes to have their blood pressure taken.

Approximately 40% of adults over the age of 18 have high blood pressure, and the number is even higher if you are African American. In light of this risk, a partnership was formed between Pillsbury United Communities and Hennepin County to raise awareness of this issue.

“It’s as simple as putting a cuff on your arm and pumping your arm a few times,” said Community Health Coordinator Jakara Warfield.

Warfield knows firsthand how important it is to understand what numbers mean. She has been living with high blood pressure for 36 years.

High blood pressure can cause many things that can shorten your lifespan.

“We think about high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. We think these are things that affect older people. We think that’s something that’s going to happen far into the future,” said Hennepin Healthcare’s Chief Medical Officer. Director Krishnan Subramanian said.

Related: St. Paul’s Hospital has a machine to improve heart attack survival rates

Dr. Subramanian says young people have problems with high blood pressure. One of the factors is stress.

“When you’re stressed at work or at home, everything becomes tense. Think of it in terms of your blood vessels. They tighten up a little bit, making it harder for blood to flow. That’s what it is.” We call it hypertension,” Subrahmanian explained.

He believes this small machine has the potential to make a big difference in healthcare in disparate communities.

“I just said that the number one killer in the United States is heart disease, the number five killer is stroke, and the number one cause of both is high blood pressure,” he said.

Approximately half of African Americans suffer from high blood pressure, many of which are undiagnosed. Experts say it’s also important to understand your risk factors.

“If you know that high blood pressure runs in your family, get tested,” Warfield says.

High rates of obesity and diabetes increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. If uncontrolled, high blood pressure can lead to other symptoms, including death.