ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE
What Is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the force exerted by blood against the walls of the arteries. Systolic pressure occurs when the heart contracts; diastolic pressure occurs when the heart expands. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
What Affects Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is affected by many factors: age, weight, time of day, activ- ity level, climate, altitude and season. Certain activities can significantly alter one’s blood pressure. Walking can raise systolic pressure by 12 mmHg and diastolic pressure by 5.5 mmHg. Sleeping can decrease systolic blood pressure by as much as 10 mmHg. Taking your blood pressure repeatedly without waiting an interval of 5 minutes between readings, or without raising your arm to allow blood to flow back to the heart, can also affect it.
In addition to these factors, beverages containing caffeine or alcohol, certain medications, emotional stress and even
What Causes Variations In Blood Pressure?
An individual’s blood pressure varies greatly from day to day and season to season. For hypersensitive individuals, these variations are even more pro- nounced. Normally, blood pressure rises during work or play and falls to its lowest levels during sleep.
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ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE
Assessing High Blood Pressure for Adults
The following standards for assessing high blood pressure (without regard to age or gender) have been established as a guideline. Please note that other risk factors (e.g. diabetes, obesity, smoking, etc.) need to be taken into con- sideration and may affect these figures. Consult with your physician for an accurate assessment.
JNC7 Classification Table – for adults within the U.S.
BP Classification | Systolic (mmHg) | Diastolic (mmHg) |
Normal | less than 120 | and | less than 80 | ||
Prehypertension |
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Stage 1 Hypertension |
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Stage 2 Hypertension | greater than | 160 | or | greater than | 100 |
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SOURCE: The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure for Adults. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute - May 2003.
WHO Classification Table – for adults outside of the U.S. (e.g. Canada, Mexico)
BP Classification | Systolic (mmHg) |
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Optimal | less than | 120 | and | less than | 80 |
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Normal | less than | 130 | or | less than | 85 |
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Stage 1 Hypertension |
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Stage 2 Hypertension |
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Stage 3 Hypertension | greater than | 180 | or | greater than | 110 |
or equal to | or equal to |
SOURCE: Standards to assess high blood pressure, without regard to age or gender, have been established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
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