There's also a higher stage of blood pressure known as hypertension stage 2 which is a systolic number of 140 or more, plus a crisis level that's reached when one's systolic level climbs higher than 180. "Though there is some fluctuation is those guidelines for individuals," she adds.īroken down, the American Heart Association shows that normal systolic blood pressure is below 120, elevated blood pressure is when the top number is between 120 and 129 and high blood pressure is when the systolic number is 130 to 139. Efrosini Barish, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. "Generally speaking, a healthy blood pressure is a systolic number of 120 or below, and a diastolic number in the 70s or 80s," explains Dr. "Both measures are important," Olendzki says. The second, or bottom, number represents one's diastolic blood pressure – the pressure that occurs when the heart rests between heartbeats – the time when the heart fills with blood and obtains oxygen. " Certain conditions may make this higher, thus making your heart work harder." What do blood pressure numbers mean?īlood pressure is measured using two numbers that are typically recorded as one number over another. The first, or top, number represents one's systolic blood pressure and measures "the force of your heart pumping blood through your arteries," says Barbara Olendzki, associate professor of population and quantitative health sciences at UMass Chan Medical School. Measuring how the heart rests between heartbeats and the force of blood against the walls of one's arteries is what taking one's blood pressure is all about. "Blood pressure is a measure of force necessary to move blood from the heart to vital organs and limbs around the body," explains Viet Le, associate professor of preventive cardiology and physician associate at Intermountain Health. Some also don't understand what blood pressure means. While most people know they don't want their blood pressure to get too high ( hypertension) or too low ( hypotension), many people don't know how to tell the difference. Understanding blood pressure readings can be tricky.
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