And the numbers actually mean risk -- the higher the blood pressure, the greater the risk -- and the interesting thing is the risk begins to occur even at relatively normal blood pressure readings. So the higher you go, the worse off you're going to be, from a blood pressure point of view.
Hawking went on to Cambridge to research cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole. In early 1963, just shy of his 21st birthday, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was not expected to live more than two years. Completing his doctorate did not appear likely.
He doesn't have ALS but rather another form of neuro-muscular dystrophy related to it. I wouldn't exactly call him lucky - he is completely paralyzed except for his eyes. Hawking is definitely more famous than he probably would be if he didn't have his condition, but he is still very smart. He's done a lot of work with singularities and black holes, and discovered that black holes actually aren't completely black. The type of radiation they give off is called Hawking Radiation.