1. What is hypertension?
Your heart pumps five to seven liters of blood per minute. When you’re healthy, that blood flows freely through your veins and arteries to the rest of the body. Your blood pressure is the measurement of the force—or pressure—of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as it moves from your heart throughout your body. It rises and falls throughout the day, depending on your activities. If your blood pressure is consistently too high, it’s called hypertension.
2. What do my blood pressure numbers mean?
Blood pressure is measured using two numbers:
- Systolic is the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats (the highest pressure).
- Diastolic is the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats (the lowest pressure).
A normal blood pressure reading would be written as 120 systolic over 80 diastolic, or “120/80 mmHg.” Numbers that are consistently higher than that suggest hypertension and are a reason to make an appointment with a primary care provider.