High Blood Pressure
Hypertension means high blood pressure, which generally means:
- systolic blood pressure is consistently over 140 (systolic is the "top" number of your blood pressure measurement, which represents the pressure generated when the heart beats)
- diastolic blood pressure is consistently over 90 (diastolic is the "bottom" number of your blood pressure measurement, which represents the pressure in the vessels when the heart is at rest)
A patient is considered to have high blood pressure if either or both of these numbers are too high.
Pre-hypertension (pre- high blood pressure) is when your systolic blood pressure is between 120 and 139 or your diastolic blood pressure is between 90 and 99 on multiple readings. If you have pre-hypertension, you are likely to develop high blood pressure at some point. Therefore, your doctor will recommend lifestyle changes to bring your blood pressure down to normal range.
Learn more about high blood pressure and the Heart Center of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.