Understanding Your Blood Pressure Numbers with a BP Monitor

1. Understanding Your Blood Pressure Numbers with a BP Monitor As the years pass and you slowly age, it becomes important to monitor your blood pressure rather frequently. By being aware of your Blood Pressure, you can be better prepared in case of any emergency or health issue that may ail you. Similarly, knowing your blood pressure can help you take prompt action and even prevent future health complications. For this reason, many patients who have high BP own a blood pressure monitor in their homes where they can check their blood pressure themselves rather than running to the doctor each time. As such it is important to know how to read the bloop pressure numbers of a blood pressure monitor to get an accurate reading. When using a blood pressure machine there are mainly two numbers that you will need to read. When taking blood pressure, the measurement is done on the basis of these two numbers: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure.  The Systolic pressure: this is the top number that is displayed on your blood pressure monitor after you have finished taking the reading. Systolic pressure measures the pressure of the blood flowing throughout arteries when your heart contracts when beating. The Diastolic pressure: This is the bottom number (seen below the systolic pressure). This number indicates the pressure of blood flowing in your arteries when your heart is relaxing when beating.  When reading your blood pressure, you need to understand that it is a comparison. The human body has an ideal range of blood pressure. When the numbers on the BP monitor are larger than the ideal range, it signifies that your heart is over-exerting itself to pump blood all throughout your body. The ideal blood pressure is 120/80 mm Hg or lower. If the numbers displayed on the blood pressure machine are above 140/90 mm Hg, then it means that you have high blood pressure. If the number displayed on the monitor is between the range of 120/80 mm Hg to 140/90 mm Hg, then it indicates that you may have stage 1 prehypertension, which indicates you have an increased risk of high blood pressure. If the reading reaches and/or overshoots 160/100 mm Hg, then it is indicative of Stage 2 hypertension and needs serious medical attention. By knowing how to read the numbers of your blood pressure monitor, you can get an accurate BP reading at a moment’s notice which can greatly help avoid any medical and health complications. Each and every BP Check Machine displays these numbers to indicate blood pressure, as such. As such it becomes essential to know what the numbers signify and what are the normal and critical ranges of blood pressure in the human body to make better and well-informed decisions.