Vaughn's Summaries

Medicine Summaries
Heart Health

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

Blood Pressure RANGE Chart

Blood Pressure RANGE Notes

Blood Pressure LEVELS Table

Blood Pressure LEVELS Notes

Disclaimer -
Updated Page Information -
Jan. 30, 2011

30

390 - 450

30

top of page

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

The above chart is also available in Portuguese -
Portuguese Blood Pressure Chart.
Many thanks to Salomao Fresco for providing it.

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

The BP numbers shown in the chart represent "Typical" systolic-diastolic pairs. There are many "non-typical" systolic/diastolic pairs, which I have discussed at length at Systolic-Diastolic Pairs.

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.

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.

Lowering High Blood Pressure Tactics

top of page

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

210 - 240
180 - 210
160 - 180 - 140 - 160

140
130
120
110
100

90
80
70
60
50

125 - 140
110 - 125
100 - 110
90 - 100

90
85
80
70
65

60
55
45
35
30

Systolic - Diastolic
Stage 4 High Blood Pressure
Stage 3 High Blood Pressure
Stage 2 High Blood Pressure
Stage 1 High Blood Pressure

BORDERLINE HIGH
High Normal
NORMAL Blood Pressure
Low Normal
Low

90 - 60 - Very Low
80 - 55 - Extremely Low
70 - 45 - Danger
60 - 40 - Danger
50 - 30 - DANGER LOW

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

top of page

95

95

85

85

200

120

75

75

65

65

160

100

55

55

BORDERLINE

140

90

45

45

NORMAL

120

80

93

35

35

90

60

25

25

25

25

210 - 450

60

60

60

60

top of page

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. Fairly recently, the difference between Systolic and Diastolic pressure, named "Pulse Pressure", has been gaining interest in the research community. This Pulse Pressure has been found to correlate linearly with heart attack risk - the higher the number, the higher the risk. According to this theory, a BP of 140/ 90 (PP=50) is more desirable than a BP of 140/ 80 (PP=60).
This PP relationship at each pressure appears to be almost linear.

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 Method #1 -
MAP = DP + (1/3 (SP - DP))
Ideal Mean Arterial Pressure is defined as 93 mm of mercury, which corresponds to 120/80.

Alternative Method #2 -
Also, MAP = (2/3 DP) + (1/3 SP)

Alternative Method #3
MAP = ((2*DP) + SP) / 3

where SP= Systolic Pressure,
and DP= Diastolic Pressure

UPDATE - ADDENDUM Jan. 30, 2011:
1. Recently, this page content has been scraped (stolen) by health-heart.net, and hosted by Bluehost.com - Click here for a description of this page theft.

2. Recently, this page has been accused of presenting "old" numbers. The US National Institute of Health still recommends the numbers shown above. Here, I present official government-blessed data.
Other medical organizations have issued new numbers recently. I believe that one must consider the source. Do the members of the group have an interest in seeing increased drug sales? Individuals with pharmaceutical connections often want people to start taking blood pressure medications, who really don't need them at all. For some, it is all about drug sales, not about your health.

3. This page and large graphic have been online since Oct. 2003, and updated hundreds of times over the last 9 years.

top of page