FACT: What blood pressure readings are normal, what is a little and what is a lot?

Blood pressure and the topic around its values makes wrinkles on the forehead of more than one person. It should not be the cause of headaches. And just a headache comes as one of the symptoms of its increase.

Neither too low nor too high is appropriate. Optimal is if we have its values somewhere in the middle.

Each of us is, of course, an individual.

Young girls and women, for example, have a predisposition to lower pressure. On the one hand, this protects them from cardiovascular complications. The disadvantage is the drop, which leads to a horizontal position. The cause is reduced blood supply to the tissues and therefore to the brain.

Surely you have heard that the disease called arterial hypertension does not hurt (...and that's until it starts to hurt). Believe me, you would not want to experience the problems that occur at pressure altitudes.

When the pressure rises, your head gets dizzy and so does your whole body. After all, the silent killer isn't called by that fateful name for nothing. Prolonged exposure to hypertension is harmful.

Hypertension increases the risk of cardiovascular complications and diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart disease (heart attack, IHD, heart failure), stroke, kidney disease, visual impairment and more.

When is it necessary to check it?

1. Blood pressure values in numbers

What is the norm? What is too low? What is too much?

Blood pressure = pressure in mmHg

2. ✔✔ OPTIMAL blood pressure

Pressure less than 120 / less than 80

Reduce cardiovascular risk and disease.

3. ☑ NORMAL blood pressure

TK 120-129 / 80-84

4. ↑✔Higher normal blood pressure

TK 130-139 / 85-89

Professional examination and blood pressure control is required from the moment a person repeatedly measures values in this range and higher.

The risk of cardiovascular disease is increased.

5. ↑ HIGH blood pressure of the 1st degree

TK 140-159 / 90-99

6. ↑ ↑ HIGH blood pressure grade 2

TK 160-179 / 100-109

7. ↑↑↑ HIGH blood pressure grade 3

Pressure 180 and above / 110 and above

+ Some publications also list 4th degree.

8. ↑↑↑↑ HIGH blood pressure grade 4 - hypertensive crisis

Pressure 210 and above / 120 and above

9. ↓ LOW blood pressure

Pressure less than 90 / 60 and below

A pressure check and professional examination is necessary if a person is having problems and his/her pressure falls below these values. BUT some people have a pressure in this range for a long time and even without experiencing difficulties.

These blood pressure values are given by the European Society of Cardiology, also in Slovakia.

10. In the USA, the rules are stricter

In the United States, the values are more strictly looked at.

Blood pressure values according to the American Heart Association:

NORMAL 120 and below / 80 and below
Elevated 120-129 / 80 and below
Grade 1 hypertension 130-139 / 80-89
Grade 2 hypertension greater than 140 / 90 and above
Hypertensive crisis more than 180 / more than 120

11. First value / second value

For a quick recap...

When measuring, two values are always given (table)

Upper blood pressure value	Slash	Lower blood pressure
Systola	/	Diastola
120	/	80
Upper blood pressure	displayed on the blood pressure monitor	Lower blood pressure reading Often referred to as heart pressure
Blood pressure during systole, the ejection of blood into the circulation	/	Blood pressure during diastole, when the heart is weakening
Systolic blood pressure		Diastolic blood pressure
The value is given in millimetres of mercury = mmHg

A pressure gauge that shows pressure readings of 120 systole, 80 diastole, 74 pulses per minute. — Pressure gauge and display of systole, diastole and heart rate. Source: Getty Images

12. Some risk factors leading to hypertension

Some factors we can and others we cannot control by our actions:

Smoking, passive smoking
diabetes
overweight and obesity
high cholesterol
high salt/sodium intake
unhealthy and unbalanced diet
insufficient fluid intake
alcohol and excessive intake
insufficient physical activity
family history, heredity and genetic predispositions
age
male/female gender
early menopause
hypertension in pregnancy, pre-eclampsia
thyroid disease
kidney disease
autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
sleep apnoea, snoring, sleep disorders
stress
socio-economic-psychological status
ethnic and racial origin
environment

View Full Article : Summary table - What are the values of low, normal and high blood pressure?

+ Cardiovascular (heart) disease category + How to have a healthy heart and blood vessels

+ Diseases:

escardio.org - 2018 ESC/ESH Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension
heart.org - Blood Pressure Fact Sheets
vusch.sk - Hypertension (high blood pressure)
npz.sk - Hypertension.

Bc. Lukáš Tóth

Healthcare worker

The secondary medical school in Nitra gave me the basis for my career in the field of health and diseases. Thanks to it, I worked for 2 years in the traumatology clinic and outpatient clinic at the Nitra Hospital. Since 2006 I was employed in the emergency medical service, where I stayed until 2017. I completed my bachelor's degree at the University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra in the field of emergency health care. The bachelor's degree allowed me to continue my mission as a paramedic. In the meantime, I got a job at the emergency line 155. I have been working in pre-hospital health care until today. I had an interest in people, health and even diseases in my childhood, which gave me the prerequisite to pursue this topic in adulthood. Studying and acquiring new information in practice provided me with a great basis for writing professional texts, in the form of articles that can be understood by ordinary people. Thus, my interest in the Health Portal has a solid foundation in years of practice and personal interest. Similarly, I am also interested in healthy eating, nutrition and overall healthy lifestyle. I fill my free time with family and sports.

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