What does the upper number on blood pressure mean?
The top number of your blood pressure reading tells you the force of the blood against artery walls when your heart beats. It is called systolic pressure. The bottom number tells you what your blood pressure is when your heart is at rest between heartbeats. It is called diastolic pressure.
What is the most important number in a blood pressure test?
Which number is most important in the reading, the top or the bottom one? A. This question comes up often, perhaps because doctors and patients alike tend to pay more attention to the top (first) number, known as systolic pressure. It reflects the amount of pressure inside the arteries as the heart contracts.
How to know when your blood pressure is high?
How to know when you blood pressure numbers are considered high blood pressure ( resource ): High Blood Pressure Stage 1 has a systolic number from 130-139 mm Hg OR a diastolic number from 80-90 mm Hg. In this range doctors are likely to suggest lifestyle changes and may consider medication based on your risk of cardiovascular disease.
What are the numbers in a blood pressure reading?
Will Baker, a cardiologist with UCHealth Heart and Vascular Clinics in Steamboat Springs and Craig, outlines what you need to know. A blood pressure reading is made up of two numbers expressed as a fraction. The top number, or systolic pressure, measures how much pressure is in the arteries when the heart contracts.
What’s the difference between the top and bottom numbers in blood pressure?
The top number, or systolic pressure, measures how much pressure is in the arteries when the heart contracts. The bottom number, or diastolic pressure, measures the blood pressure between beats. “When your heart pumps, all that blood rushes and fills your arteries,” Baker said.
Why are upper blood pressure numbers so important?
This is why doctors tend to monitor the top number more closely. This is so because the higher number rises steadily with age due to the following: For people of all ages, a higher upper blood pressure number can also be caused by an overactive thyroid or diabetes.
What are the top and bottom numbers of blood pressure?
Blood pressure usually ranges between 90 to 250 for the top or maximum number ( systolic ) and 60 to 140 for the bottom or minimum number (diastolic).
Is 122 over 74 normal blood pressure?
If the blood pressure is 122/74 (122 over 74), it means that the systolic pressure is 122 and the diastolic pressure is 74. 122/74 blood pressure can also be read as 122/74 mm Hg, or 122/74 millimeters of mercury.
Is 130/80 good blood pressure or high blood pressure?
The two numbers together show whether your blood pressure is healthy or unhealthy. A high systolic (130 and over) or diastolic (80 and over) can count as high blood pressure. But healthy numbers may also be different for adults, children, and pregnant women. Healthy blood pressure in adults is a reading below 120 systolic and 80 diastolic.
What is the most dangerous blood pressure?
High blood pressure above 200 systolic and 100 diastolic can lead to acute complications such as stroke, heart failure or kidney damage. Long-term pressures above 140/85 can cause problems with the heart, the brain, the kidneys or blood vessels. High blood pressure is dangerous.