Blood Pressure Chart - Normal Blood Pressure Range

Human Heart Health

Blood Pressure Chart
Normal Blood Pressure Range

What is your adult Blood Pressure?
What is normal blood pressure?
What is normal blood pressure range?
What is high blood pressure?
This page answers these questions.

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Systolic vs. Diastolic Blood Pressure Range - Units = millimeters of mercury

Human Blood Pressure Range Diagram

The 1st Number: Systolic pressure is the pressure generated when the heart contracts.
The 2nd Number: Diastolic pressure is the blood pressure when the heart is relaxed.

What is Normal Blood Pressure? Buy and use an automatic blood pressure monitor. Compare your BP reading with the numbers on the chart above. Draw a line from your systolic pressure to your diastolic pressure. Is the slope of the line about the same as shown on the chart? Where do YOU fit in? What are your risk factors?
Are your blood pressure readings within the normal blood pressure range?
Should you take anti-hypertension medication to lower your blood pressure?

Normal human daily Blood Pressure Range can vary widely, so any single blood pressure monitor reading is not reliable. BP monitor readings must be taken at different times of day, to determine AVERAGE blood pressure levels over time.
What is important is your AVERAGE BP, or MAP (Mean Arterial Pressure) over time.
Or, where are those numbers sitting MOST of the time?
Normal MAP is about 93 mm of mercury.

Lowering High Blood Pressure Tactics
Download a 1-page printable .PDF file of the Blood Pressure Chart above.

For the scientists among you: The pressure of 1mm of mercury = 0.019337 PSI. A systolic blood pressure of 2 PSI is good, a systolic blood pressure of 3 PSI is not good.

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Blood Pressure Range Chart Notes

NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE
BP READINGS RANGE

HIGH Blood Pressure Symptoms -
Stressed, Sedentary, Bloated, Weak, Failing

Systolic - Diastolic
210 - 120 - Stage 4 High Blood Pressure
180 - 110 - Stage 3 High Blood Pressure
160 - 100 - Stage 2 High Blood Pressure
140 - 90 - Stage 1 High Blood Pressure
140 - 90 - BORDERLINE HIGH
130 - 85 - High Normal
120 - 80 - NORMAL Blood Pressure
110 - 75 - Low Normal
90 - 60 - BORDERLINE LOW
60 - 40 - TOO LOW Blood Pressure
50 - 33 - DANGER Blood Pressure

LOW Blood Pressure Symptoms -
Weak, Tired, Dizzy, Fainting, Coma

. Blood Pressure Levels Table Here is essentially the same information presented above, in tabular format, with notes at the bottom.
Comment	Systolic	Diastolic	S - D Delta	MAP
Far, Far, Far TOO HIGH Medication Is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY To Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke	230	135	95	167
	225	130	95	162
	220	130	90	160
	215	125	90	155
	210	125	85	153
	205	120	85	148
	200	120	80	147
	195	115	80	142
	190	115	75	140
	185	110	75	135
Way Too High - Medication Is STRONGLY ADVISED	180	110	70	133
	175	105	70	128
	170	105	65	127
	165	100	65	122
Too High - Most Doctors Will Prescribe Meds	160	100	60	120
	155	95	60	115
	150	95	55	113
Borderline - Some Doctors Will Prescribe Meds	145	90	55	108
	140	90	50	107
	135	85	50	102
Good Very Good Excellent	130	85	45	100
	125	80	45	95
	120	80	40	93
	115	75	40	88
	110	70	40	83
	105	70	35	82
Children and Athletes	100	65	35	77
	95	65	30	75
	90	60	30	70
Too Low - Meds May Be Required To Prevent Fainting (Syncope)	85	55	30	65
	80	55	25	63
	75	50	25	58
	70	50	20	57
Far, Far, Far Too Low - MEDICATION REQUIRED	65	45	20	52
	60	45	15	50
	55	40	15	45
	50	35	15	43
180	60	60	60	60

Notes for the above BP table :

1. Why did I do this? I searched high and low on the Internet, and I could find nothing like this in one place - a Summary of human BP range, the Averages, and the Comments relating to each BP level.

2. How did I get the numbers? I started with the commonly seen "Systolic/ Diastolic pairs" seen in the literature - 200/120, 160/100, 140/90, 120/80 and 90/60. From there, I interpolated and extrapolated all the other numbers. Note that these are AVERAGE relationships. For instance, instead of 140/90, your BP may be 140/100, or 140/80. Each individual will have a unique systolic-diastolic relationship. If your S/D difference varies significantly from the averages shown above, this can be helpful in assessing your particular cardiovascular condition.

3. For comparison purposes, I added the "delta" column, which is the difference between the Systolic and Diastolic pressure readings. This relationship is almost linear, with the exceptions of the 40 delta, the 30 delta, and the 15 delta.

4. As for the comments, I have "averaged" the references made in the literature, since not all doctors agree upon the pressures at which to treat, and how aggressively to treat (multiple medications, type of meds, etc.). You can rest assured that the pharmaceutical companies prefer that you take medication at 135/80, since they sell the meds. Most doctors are not so aggressive. Remember that ALL medications have side effects. Heart medications have more serious side effects than any other class of prescription drugs.

5. Be aware of the "Circadian Rhythm" cycle. Your Blood Pressure is highly influenced by the time of day. For normal people, the highest BP occurs about midday, and the lowest at about 3-4 AM in the morning. For some people, described as "non-dippers", this early morning BP dip does not occur. For these people, highest blood pressure usually occurs around 6 AM to 9 AM in the morning. Some doctors are not aware of this, and make erroneous assumptions. A non-dipper may see 150/95 in the morning, and 130/85 in the evening. Non-dipping is usually associated with abnormal sleep conditions, such as sleep apnea, heavy snoring, drug and alcohol abuse, etc.

6. One blood pressure reading means very little. The advice to "Have your blood pressure checked once a year" is useless. What time of day? Had you eaten less salty foods recently? Were you relaxed that day, when you are usually much more stressed? Had you recently exercised vigorously? You must check your BP far more often than once a year, especially if you show "borderline" readings. I can produce a very low, or very high blood pressure AT WILL, based upon what I do during the 24 hours prior to the measurement.

7. Beware of "white coat syndrome", which results in a much higher BP reading than normal, due to the authoritative doctor, the foreboding, sterile exam room, and the smells such as alcohol and disinfectant. All this is not relaxing. Some unaware doctors may prescribe medication, when in fact, you don't need it at all. As soon as you leave the office, your BP returns to normal. This is another great reason to use your own automatic BP wrist monitor, so that you come to know your own body, and the effects of stress, food, mood, sleep, and time of day.

8. MAP = Mean Arterial Pressure. Three formulas are used to compute MAP. All three produce very similar results.
Above, I used -
MAP = DP + 1/3 (SP - DP)
Ideal Mean Arterial Pressure is defined as 93 mm of mercury, which corresponds to 120/80.

Disclaimer
The author is not a doctor. I am simply a data analyst.
NO PERSONAL MEDICAL ADVICE IS OFFERED OR IMPLIED.
If you have a heart condition, see a medical professional.
Statements on this page may NOT be correct. These are just my personal thoughts. The sole purpose of this page is to encourage further research on your part. I hope that you have found this high blood pressure information page helpful. Buy and use an automated blood pressure monitor, to track your own heart health.
Thank you very much for your time.

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This Vaughns Low-High Normal Blood Pressure Chart webpage was updated on 2009-06-29.