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What is blood pressure (and what is normal)?

What is blood pressure (and what is normal)?

In this article we will describe what is blood pressure, what is normal, and the effects of age and gender.

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force exerted by your blood against the walls of your arteries as it’s pumped around your body. It’s measured in two numbers: systolic and diastolic pressure.

  • Systolic pressure – is the higher number, representing the pressure when your heart is contracting and pumping blood, whilst ..
  • Diastolic pressure – is the lower number, representing the pressure when your heart is at rest between beats.

It is written on the form of ‘systolic/diastolic’, e.g. 127/73.

What is normal blood pressure?

There is no such thing as normal blood pressure (BP).

Blood pressure (BP) is a complex and dynamic parameter, and what’s considered ‘normal’ can vary significantly between individuals and across different age groups.

For most adults, a normal blood pressure range is generally considered to be between 100/70 mmHg and 135/85 mmHg. However, optimal blood pressure targets can change throughout life due to factors such as age and gender.

Why is high blood pressure important?

Blood pressure is not a disease. It is a biomedical variable, and part of you – like height or hair colour.

But persistently elevated blood pressure increases the risk of chronic kidney disease, (CKD) ischaemic heart disease (IHD), and stroke – making it an important aspect of patient management.

What is low, normal and high blood pressure?

  • Low blood pressure: <90/<60 mmHg
  • Normal (average): around 130/80 mmHg (range 100/70 – 135/85)
  • Normal to high: 131-139/81-89 mmHg
  • High blood pressure: >140/>90 mmHg
Note. A blood pressure reading of 180/120 mmHg or higher indicates a hypertensive crisis, requiring urgent medical attention.

Does low blood pressure matter?

Yes – especially in the elderly. Why? It can cause falls, that can be serious (e.g. lead to fractures). These can be more serious than the consequences of high blood pressure.

Causes include heart failure, dehydration and over-medication – e.g. with blood pressure and water tablets (diuretics).

How does blood pressure change with age and gender?

As people get older, their arteries naturally become stiffer, leading to increased blood pressure. Normal blood pressure tends to be higher in men than women, but post-menopause, women’s blood pressure often aligns with that of men.
Figure 13, [Changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure with age]. - The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure - NCBI Bookshelf
US data on BP changes by age and gender
Note. For individuals over 75, a target blood pressure below 150/90 mmHg is often recommended to ensure adequate cerebral perfusion (and prevent falls).

What factors that blood pressure?

  • Age: Blood pressure increases with age
  • Gender: Men have higher blood pressure than women, but this gap narrows post-menopause
  • Pulse pressure: The difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This also increases with age. This is shown in the US data above
  • Time of day: There is a 24 hour circadian rhythm, whereby BP levels will be different at different times of day.

Summary

In this article we have described what is blood pressure, what is normal, and the effects of age and gender. We hope it has been helpful.

Other resource

Causes and investigation of high blood pressure

 

 

Related posts:

  1. What is high blood pressure – and why does it matter?
  2. What is normal blood pressure by age and gender?
  3. How to examine the heart – and cardiovascular system (CVS)
  4. What are the 10 most common blood pressure tablets?

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