However occasionally there is a consistent difference greater than 10 mmhg which may need further investigation eg. More than 90 over 60 9060 and less than 120 over 80 12080. For peripheral arterial disease or obstructive arterial disease. The aha refers to these high measurements as a hypertensive crisis blood pressure in this range requires. A blood pressure test is a simple way of checking if your blood pressure is too high or too low. You may have low blood pressuremore on low blood pressure.
Blood pressure is the term used to describe the strength with which your blood pushes on the sides of your arteries as its pumped around your body. Various other factors such as age and sex also influence a persons blood pressuredifferences between left and right arm blood pressure measurements tend to be small. If your blood pressure is elevated systolic blood pressure between 120 and 129 or diastolic blood pressure of less than 80 your doctor will probably want to check it every 3 6 months. Your blood pressure reading is. Blood pressure measurements that are taken intermittently in the clinical setting are usually referred to as casual or clinic measurements. The most established method is the auscultatory measurement classically performed with the mercury sphygmomanometer but largely replaced in recent years by aneroid manometry due to safety concerns about the use of mercury.
If you have high blood pressure talk to your health care team about steps to take to control your blood pressure to lower your risk for heart disease and stroke. However blood pressure can become dangerously high and it can also get too low. The gauge uses a unit of measurement called millimeters of mercury mmhg to measure the pressure in your blood vessels. A mercury sphygmomanometer was used for blood pressure measurements in the majority of studies except in uk ghana kumasi tanzania seychelles and south africa where automated devices were used table 1cuff sizes varied according to arm circumference following standard protocols. A blood pressure reading above 180120 mm hg indicates a serious health problem. 90 over 60 9060 or less.
As you can see from the blood pressure chart only one of the numbers has to be higher or lower than it should be to count as either high blood pressure or low blood pressure. Blood pressure measurement and definition of hypertension. Arterial blood pressure is most accurately measured invasively through an arterial line. The threshold for blood pressure from pharmacy readings is 13585 mmhg suggesting a reduced white coat effect similar to daytime ambulatory measurements. What blood pressure readings mean. Learn more about blood pressure measurements.
In this article we will discuss what blood pressure is how it is measured and what the measurements mean for.
Gallery of Blood Pressure Body Measurements
