What Is Normal Blood Pressure?
The fact that you’re asking, “what is normal blood pressure” is a good sign. Many people don’t give blood pressure a second thought. This is pretty typical as high blood pressure, otherwise known, as hypertension, has no detectable symptoms other than a high reading on a blood pressure monitor.
The long-term results however, can be devastating. The chronically elevated pressure on your arterial walls can lead to damage to vital organs such as your kidneys and can also lead to heart disease and stroke. This can result in disability or even death.
Before we discuss what is normal blood pressure, we first need to know how to properly measure blood pressure. You should initially have your blood pressure checked in a doctor’s office. However, many doctor’s offices rush patients into the exam room where a nurse will immediately take their blood pressure. This can sometimes result in a higher reading than if you had time to sit and relax for about 15 minutes.
You should insist that the doctor take you blood pressure again after you’ve had a chance to remain seated for at least 15 minutes. Then take the average of the two measurements.
The other factor that may cause your blood pressure to read higher is nervousness from just being in the doctor’s office. This is often referred to as “white coat hypertension”. If this is suspected ask your doctor about how you can measure your blood pressure yourself while at home.
There are several stages of blood pressure: normal, pre-hypertension, stage 1, and stage 2. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently changed the values of these ranges. This is the first change to the blood pressure ranges since 1997. These changes have eliminated stage 3 blood pressure.
The change to the normal blood pressure range deserves particular attention since people who assumed they were in the normal blood pressure range previously, are now finding that they are classified in the pre-hypertension range.
If you find that your blood pressure now falls within the pre-hypertension range don’t panic. Medication is not typically prescribed for people in this range. The NIH lowered the thresholds on the blood pressure ranges to make patients and their doctors more aware of the serious consequences of the risks associated with high blood pressure. Lowering your blood pressure a few points during this stage is much more manageable than at the higher stages.
The following chart shows the old and new blood pressure ranges:
Systolic
Diastolic
Normal Less than 120
Used to be <130
and
Less than 80
Used to be <85
Prehypertension
Blood pressure in this category used to be considered high-normal.
120-139
or
80-89
Stage 1 hypertension 140-159
or
90-99
Stage 2 hypertension 160 and higher
Used to be
160-179
or
100 and higher
Used to be 100-109
Remember that the blood pressure ranges are general guidelines and that your individual medical history must be taken into consideration when determining appropriate treatment. Health conditions such as kidney disease, angina, diabetes, and pregnancy require special consideration when determining the effects of high blood pressure on your health. In addition, systolic blood pressure becomes more important in people over 50.