Understanding Blood Pressure Numbers

The two numbers that measure your blood pressure are written like a fraction: one number on top and one on the bottom.

Two numbers constitute a single blood pressure reading and are expressed in the form of a fraction, with one number on top of another. For instance, if the blood pressure of an individual is 128/82, the number on top is the systolic pressure and indicates the pressure inside the blood vessel during the instant the heart beats. Similarly, the bottom number is called the diastolic pressure and is indicative of the pressure inside the blood vessel when the heart is at rest, i.e. in between heartbeats.

Blood pressure of an individual is never a fixed number. On the contrary, it is prone to changes during the course of the day and can even show variation during the span of a few minutes. It generally fluctuates within a certain range on a day-to-day basis with there being several factors that contributes to this variation, like:

• Posture maintained
• Level of exercise undertaken
• Tension
• Use of nicotine, to mention just a few.

Hence, it’s always recommended to take multiple blood pressure readings, preferably each reading on a different day, the average of which should be your correct blood pressure.
Also, before comparing your blood pressure to what is considered as normal, it’s important to look into factors like:

• Food habit
• Overall health
• Family history
• Lifestyle followed

This is because the above mentioned factors can have an impact on your blood pressure and can cause it to deviate significantly from the normal range.
What is High Blood Pressure?
Your blood pressure can be termed as normal if it’s below 120/80. However, extremely low blood pressure too can be a serious health concern. Again if the average blood pressure is between 120/80 and 139/89, then the condition is termed as ‘prehypertension’ while anything above 140/90 is high blood pressure. But then again, one reading of 140/90 should not be an indication of you suffering from hypertension, though your doctor will surely like to keep an eye on it for some time to determine if it’s a one-time figure or whether it stays there. You are also likely to have high average blood pressure if any one of your readings is too high.
Table of Blood Pressure Numbers
Presented below is a table that mentions the different categories of blood pressure for adults based on numbers.

	Blood Pressure Level (mmHg)
Category	Systolic		Diastolic
Normal	< 120	and	< 80
Prehypertension	120-139	or	80-89
High Blood Pressure
Stage 1 hypertension	140-159	or	90-99
Stage 2 hypertension	160	or	100

If the systolic and diastolic pressures can be classified into different categories, the convention followed is to use the higher category in order to classify the blood pressure level. As for instance, a pressure reading of 160/80 mmHg should be seen as Stage 2 hypertension or high blood pressure.