What is blood pressure?

As the heart contracts, blood is forced out against the artery walls. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart out to the body and directly to the heart muscle itself. The amount of pressure on the arteries when the heart beats is called systolic pressure. It is often referred to as the “top” or “upper” number when someone is reading a blood pressure. When the heart relaxes, there is still some pressure against the artery walls. This is called diastolic pressure and is often referred to as the “bottom” number.

This pressure can be measured with a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope, or in the case of an electronic tool, simply a cuff. It should be done when someone is at rest for at least 5 minutes and in a relaxed state. Being stressed can elevate blood pressure!

If someone has consistently elevated blood pressure, this is termed pre-hypertensive or hypertensive, depending on the severity.

For more information on blood pressure including recommendations and risk categories, the American Heart Association is a great resource. Note there are risk categories depending on blood pressure numbers, including normal, prehypertensive, and hypertensive. The table below is from the AHA and has risk categories classified by blood pressure measurements.

Blood Pressure Category (as seen on table above)

Normal: systolic less than 120 and diastolic less than 80

Elevated: systolic 120 – 129 and diastolic less than 80

High, Hypertension Stage 1: systolic 130 – 139 or diastolic 80 – 89

High, Hypertension State 2: systolic 140 or higher or diastolic 90 or higher

Hypertensive Crisis (consult doctor immediately): systolic higher than 180 and/ or diastolic higher than 120