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.  Further explaining, each time the heart beats, about 60-70 times a minute at rest, it pumps out blood into the arteries.

Your blood pressure is measured in two methods, systolic and diastolic.

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

Blood pressure is always given as these two numbers, the systolic and diastolic pressures.  The numbers are usually 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.  If your blood pressure is 120/80, you say that it is “20 over 80.

Your 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, including during exercise.

Still, for most of your waking hours, your blood pressure stays pretty much the same when you are sitting or standing still. The average person should have blood pressure at approximately 120/80.  When you have readings of 140/90 or higher, you may be diagnosed with high blood pressure.

If you have 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.

A blood pressure of 140/90 or higher is considered high blood pressure. Both numbers are important. If one or both numbers are usually high, you have high blood pressure. If you are being treated for high blood pressure, you still have high blood pressure even if you have repeated readings in the normal range.

There are two levels of high blood pressure: Stage 1 and Stage 2, which are explained as follows:

• Normal:                     Less than 120/80
• Prehypertension:         120 to 139 / 80 to 89
• Stage 1 High BP:         140 to 159 / 90-99
• Stage 2 High BP:         160 and up / 100 and up