Your blood pressure numbers, explained plainly
What systolic and diastolic actually measure, when a reading is worth worrying about, and how to measure it properly at home.
High blood pressure causes no symptoms until it causes serious ones. That is precisely why the numbers matter.
What the two numbers mean
The top number, systolic, is the pressure while the heart contracts. The bottom, diastolic, is the pressure between beats. Both matter, though systolic pressure predicts risk more strongly after middle age.
- Normal: under 120/80 mmHg
- Elevated: 120–129 systolic, under 80 diastolic
- Stage 1: 130–139 or 80–89
- Stage 2: 140+ or 90+
How to measure it properly at home
Sit with your back supported and feet flat, arm at heart height, after five quiet minutes. No caffeine or exercise for thirty minutes beforehand. Take two readings a minute apart, morning and evening, for a week — a single reading in a clinic tells you very little.
What actually lowers it
Reducing sodium, increasing potassium-rich foods, losing modest amounts of weight, moving regularly and moderating alcohol each shift systolic pressure by a few points. Stacked together, that is often the difference between medication and monitoring.
Never stop or adjust prescribed blood pressure medication without speaking to your clinician.
- #hypertension
- #screening
- #heart
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