Since you age, monitoring your blood pressure at home is advise by many physicians since it is a crucial health indicator. But if you need help understanding the meaning of the readings or how to collect them properly, there isn’t much use in doing so.
Additionally, readings fluctuate during the day and may be influence by stress and dehydration. Additionally, different values signify high, low, and normal blood pressure, depending on age.
As the heart beats, blood is force into arteries, providing the body’s organs and tissues with oxygen and nourishment. This process is known as blood pressure. Your organs must maintain a standard blood pressure measurement to prevent injury properly.
Age, medical issues, and other lifestyle variables may all affect blood pressure. Keeping an eye on these figures is crucial because high or low blood pressure that persists for an extended time may signal significant health problems and raise the risk of early mortality. High or low blood pressure is an indication of poor health.
An at-home blood pressure monitor is a straightforward technique to check your blood pressure. Many at-home monitors on our list of the Best Blood Pressure Monitors provide features that make it simple to determine if your blood pressure is high or within normal range using color-coded data.
Even so, it’s crucial to understand what your blood pressure readings signify and which ones indicate an average vs. high level, even though many at-home monitors include features that make it simple to interpret your readings.
Why Do Blood Pressure Readings Matter?
Two numbers make up a blood pressure reading: the top number, or systolic blood pressure, and the bottom number, or diastolic blood pressure.
How Much Blood Pressure Is Systolic?
Systolic blood pressure gauges the force your blood applies to the arterial walls. Ian Del Conde Pozzi, M.D., a cardiologist and vascular medicine expert at the Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, says, “The pressure within our arteries changes with every heartbeat.” Pressure rises as the heart beats because more blood is pump into the circulatory system. Systolic blood pressure is use to quantify this rise.
Diastolic Blood Pressure: What Is It?
According to Dr. Pozzi, the pressure inside the system is then measured by diastolic pressure. Diastolic blood pressure is the level at which the heart temporarily relaxes between heartbeats, whereas systolic blood pressure is the maximum pressure during a heartbeat.
How Much Blood Pressure Is Normal?
Blood pressure that is within normal range “indicates that the heart and blood vessels are not working too hard pushing blood and that the blood is not exerting too much pressure on the walls of the vessels,” according to Aseem Desai, M.D., a cardiologist at Providence Mission Hospital in Southern California. According to recent statistics from the American Heart Association, persons over 20 should have an average reading under 120/80 mmHg[1].
Blood pressure may differ based on an individual’s age, gender, race, and ethnicity, but Dr. Desai says it should still be within the broad normal range. Dr. Desai continues, “The target blood pressure for treatment varies depending on age (for example, if someone is considered elderly) and associated co-morbidities (for example, diabetes),” even though readings lower than 120/80 are often regarded as appropriate.
Age, Race, And Gender-Specific Average Blood Pressure
According to recent statistics, normal blood pressure for adults is less than 120/80 mmHg. Previously, recommendations for normal blood pressure for people varied by gender and particular age.
Several racial and ethnic groupings have a greater prevalence of hypertension. Non-Hispanic Black people have a significantly higher rate of hypertension compared to non-Hispanic White people, and Hispanics and non-Hispanic Asians have lower rates than the first two.
This variation may be attributed to various factors, including inadequate insurance coverage, limited access to healthcare, and gaps in the usage of pharmaceuticals to treat several disorders with “reduced compliance in certain groups,” according to the author.
Normal, Elevated Hypertension And Higher Blood Pressure Ranges
There are five blood pressure stages: normal, four distinct phases of hypertension (from extremely manageable to urgent), and the fifth stage.
Standard Blood Pressure
Individuals with normal blood pressure vary from 90 to 120 systolic and 60 to 80 diastolic. Low blood pressure is indicated by a systolic value under 90.
What Causes Blood Pressure to Rise?
Higher blood pressure and a greater risk of developing hypertension are indicated by readings between 120 and 129 systolic and less than 80 diastolic.
According to Dr. Desai, the burden on the heart and arteries increases when blood pressure rises. “This causes the heart muscle to thicken (hypertrophy), which might cause heart failure. Additionally, it causes the arterial wall to microtear, which promotes the buildup of cholesterol (atherosclerosis). This causes the vessel to constrict and the blood pressure to rise even more.
What is Stage I Hypertension?
A systolic value between 130 and 139 and a diastolic reading between 80 and 89 indicate Stage I hypertension.
While doctors initially recommend a healthier lifestyle—eating more vegetables and whole grains, using less salt, increasing physical activity, and managing stress—if blood pressure falls in this range on numerous readings over time in people with other cardiovascular risk factors, medications may be require.
According to the 2017 ACC/AHA recommendations, persons with Stage I hypertension should start thinking about taking medication three to six months after beginning nonpharmacologic treatment. If it isn’t address, there is also a danger of atherosclerosis, which is a thickening or hardening of the arteries brought on by a buildup of plaque in the inner lining of an artery. High cholesterol and triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, obesity, physical activity, and consumption of saturated fats are all potential risk factors for atherosclerosis.
What is Stage II hypertension?
Systolic and diastolic values of at least 140 and 90, respectively, indicate hypertension Stage II. It is often treat with a combination of drugs and advice on leading a healthy lifestyle. However, this kind of hypertension is more dangerous than earlier and must be well monitor.
Hypertensive Crisis: What Is It?
When the systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings surpass 180, a hypertensive crisis or a medical emergency results in indications of a stroke, headache, vision problems, dizziness, chest discomfort, or shortness of breath, immediate care should be sought.
Taking Your Blood Pressure
You may take your blood pressure at home using a wrist blood pressure monitor or an upper arm cuff blood pressure monitor. Experts often suggest upper arm cuffs since they are the most accurate. A manual and a digital monitor may be found on the upper arm cuffs. Both are effective, but a digital one will be simpler if you routinely take your blood pressure.
Using a digital upper arm cuff, take your blood pressure precisely by first sitting calmly and erect for a few minutes to give your body a chance to unwind. Be sure to straighten your ankles and legs and support your back with something cozy.
Put your arm close to the monitor, which should be on a table in front of you, at around heart level, and wrap the cuff around your naked upper arm just above your elbow. Only a fingertip should fit beneath the top edge of the sleeve once it has been securely fast.
As the cuff inflates and deflates, measuring your blood pressure and displaying the result on the screen, switch on the monitor, hit the start button, and continue to breathe normally.
When Is High Blood Pressure Consider?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines high blood pressure, often known as hypertension, as having a systolic reading of at least 130 mmHg and a diastolic reading of at least 80 mmHg. One hundred sixteen million individuals in the United States have high blood pressure as of 2021.
What Factors Influence Blood Pressure?
Hypertension, or elevated blood pressure, often has no identified cause. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that it usually occurs due to bad lifestyle choices and develops gradually.
Sometimes, hypertension may be brought on by an underlying problem such as kidney disease, tumors of the adrenal glands, or thyroid issues. Other illnesses, including pregnancy, diabetes, and obesity, may also increase your risk.
Some people are susceptible to high blood pressure from certain medications, such as birth control pills, some decongestants, and even some over-the-counter pain relievers. Illicit drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamines, may also raise blood pressure.
Having high blood pressure is rather typical. According to a National Center for Health Statistics study from 2017 to 2018[4], 45.5% of individuals in the United States have hypertension.
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure
Because it often has no symptoms, high blood pressure is call “the silent killer.” Unless their blood pressure is check, most individuals are unaware they have hypertension.
Symptoms don’t appear until organ damage—often irreversible damage—and extremely high numbers have occurred.
The following signs and symptoms of severe hypertension were mention by patients in a study publish in the British Journal of General Practice, some of which are list below:
- Headaches
- Breathing difficulty
- Nosebleeds
- Flushing
- Dizziness
- chest pain
- A visual shift
- Urethral blood
- Mood shifts
- Constipation
Methods for Treating High Blood Pressure
Leading a healthy lifestyle helps avoid some of the harm that might result from hypertension and decreases blood pressure.
- Limiting your daily salt consumption to 2.3 grams.
- One hundred fifty minutes a week of aerobic activity at a moderate level.
- Lowering your alcohol consumption.