LifeSource UA-767 Plus manual About Blood Pressure

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 tight-fitting clothes can make a differ- ence in the readings.

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	120-139		or	80-89
Stage 1 Hypertension	140-159		or	90-99
Stage 2 Hypertension	greater than	160	or	greater than	100
	or equal to			or equal to

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)			Diastolic (mmHg)
Optimal	less than	120	and	less than	80
Normal	less than	130	or	less than	85
High-Normal	130-139		or	85-89
Stage 1 Hypertension	140-159		or	90-99
Stage 2 Hypertension	160-179		or	100-109
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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