Thread: What is Blood Pressure?

What is Blood Pressure?

Blood is carried from the heart to all parts of your body in vessels called arteries. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Each time the heart beats (about 60-70 times a minute at rest), it pumps out blood into the arteries.

Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure (force per unit area) exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs. The pressure of the circulating blood decreases as it moves away from the heart through arteries and capillaries, and toward the heart through veins

Your blood pressure is at its highest when the heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When the heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is the diastolic pressure.

Blood pressure is always given as these two numbers, the systolic and diastolic pressures. Both are important. Usually they are written one above or before the other, such as 120/80 mmHg. The top number is the systolic and the bottom the diastolic. When the two measurements are written down, the systolic pressure is the first or top number, and the diastolic pressure is the second or bottom number (for example, 120/80). If your blood pressure is 120/80, you say that it is "120 over 80."

Blood pressure changes during the day. It is lowest as you sleep and rises when you get up. It also can rise when you are excited, nervous, or active.

Still, for most of your waking hours, your blood pressure stays pretty much the same when you are sitting or standing still. That level should be lower than 120/80. When the level stays high, 140/90 or higher, you have high blood pressure. With high blood pressure, the heart works harder, your arteries take a beating, and your chances of a stroke, heart attack, and kidney problems are greater.

Blood Pressure Range Chart Notes

NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE - BP READINGS RANGE

HIGH Blood Pressure Symptoms -
Stressed, Sedentary, Bloated, Weak, Failing

(Systolic - Diastolic)
210 - 120 - Stage 4 High Blood Pressure
180 - 110 - Stage 3 High Blood Pressure
160 - 100 - Stage 2 High Blood Pressure
140 - 90 - Stage 1 High Blood Pressure
140 - 90 - BORDERLINE HIGH
130 - 85 - High Normal
120 - 80 - NORMAL Blood Pressure
110 - 75 - Low Normal
90 - 60 - BORDERLINE LOW
60 - 40 - TOO LOW Blood Pressure
50 - 33 - DANGER Blood Pressure

LOW Blood Pressure Symptoms -
Weak, Tired, Dizzy, Fainting, Coma

Source: Collection from 3 websites

Good Info Ramesh.

Go easy on the salt. 140/90 is a bit high that too at your
young age.

-F

Good info... keep it up

Really good thread Ramesh, its makes it slightly easy to understand high blood pressure!
Could you explain further to what exactly the top number means and what the bottom number means, I mean elaborate more on systolic and the diastolic!

Although 120/80 is normal blood pressure but Systolic BP increases with age (specially after 50) at that age 140/80 consider as normal blood pressure.

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

Could you explain further to what exactly the top number means and what the bottom number means, I mean elaborate more on systolic and the diastolic!

paging Dr. Kiran Kumar.....

-F

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

Could you explain further to what exactly the top number means and what the bottom number means, I mean elaborate more on systolic and the diastolic!

Thanks farce for bringing it to my attention.

Systolic : This is the pressure of the blood exerted on the walls of the artery when the heart contracts. When the heart gets the pure blood (oxygenated) from the lungs, it has to pump the blood to all parts of the body so to do that heart contracts its ventricles and pumps the blood out of heart. This pressure is measured with an instrument called as "sphygmomanometer" or commonly known as BP Apparatus. 120 is the normal figure of systolic blood pressure it is measured in terms of mm/Hg ie 120 millimeter per gram of mercury.

Diastolic : This the pressure of the blood exerted on the walls of heart (auricles or the upper chambers of heart). When the heart pumps out the blood there is a empty space created in heart this sucks the blood again into the heart and again it is pumped out. This one complete circulation is known as "Cardiac cycle". The normal figure of this is 80 mm/Hg.

These figures cannot be measured separately, hence they are always combined and read as 120 / 80 mm/Hg. This is considered as the normal value. in our daily life our blood pressure will not be stagnant, it will be varying from 110/70 to 130/80 sometimes when we are running or in fear the BP goes up to 150/110, but within a few min it will be back to normal range, if this does not come back to normal then it is considered and abnormal and treatment is give.

Want to know more? i am here for you.

Thanks Kiran for making my task easy...& Happy Birthday Kiran (Sorry off topic )

Thanks for giving such a useful information

Hi,
Thanks for sharing this unique information about blood pressure.