Blood pressure readings by age

Blood pressure (BP) is actually the pressure that falls on arterial walls, while they transport the blood. It simple as that, human heart pumps and therefore our blood circulates through our body. The blood uses blood vessels, arteries and veins, to run and because of the blood flow, there is some pressure.

Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure

However, there are two numbers representing our blood pressure. It might seem confusing at first, but as soon as you remember that human heart pumps and then relaxes, it becomes clearer. One of these numbers is known as systolic blood pressure and it is read when the heart beats. Other number represents diastolic blood pressure. This is usually the lower of two numbers and it is measured in the period when the heart rests. You shouldn’t think these processes last for a long period of time, because they don’t. Human heart rate (in healthy adults) is normally somewhere in between 60 and 100 beats in one minute, which means the heart beats and relaxes 60 to 100 times in every minute. Therefore, you can measure blood pressure for some 30 seconds or so and it doesn’t take much of your time.

Normal Blood Pressure

With so many people suffering from high blood pressure (hypertension) people started to wander what exactly is considered to be normal. Men and women both should have similar blood pressure, since these figures are not affected by sex. Age also doesn’t have any effect, so, when measuring blood pressure in adult person of any age, you should have the same result.

Doctors refer to blood pressure as normal if it is somewhere in the category of 120 to 139mm Hg (systolic BP) and 80 to 89mm Hg (diastolic BP). People who had blood pressure in the range 90-110/60-69mm Hg are considered to have low blood pressure.

High Blood Pressure

All values above 139/89mm Hg indicate heightened blood pressure. Patients who had 140 to 159/90 to 99mm Hg are usually warned that they belong to pre-hypertension group, while everyone with BP over 160/100mm Hg is hypertension patient.

High blood pressure is usually diagnosed when measured BP is in the range of 160-200/100-120mm Hg. However, some people may experience reading with over 200/120mm Hg and they are diagnosed as very high blood pressure patients.Why is Hypertension Dangerous?

High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. This condition may not have some specific symptoms or no symptoms at all but it certainly have significant impact to human health, so it is also called “the silent killer”. Patients may experience some headaches, dizziness, tiredness or some pounding in the ears, neck or the chest because of high BP. Heightened BP affects the heart, leading to increased pressure on this organ and causing many heart problems. Besides heart-related issues, patients diagnosed with hypertension are also found out to be exposed to greater risk of stroke.