Blood pressure measurement: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (original) (raw)

Blood pressure is a measurement of the force on the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body.

You can measure your blood pressure at home. You can also have it checked at your health care provider's office or even a fire station.

Sit in a chair with your back supported. Your legs should be uncrossed, and your feet on the floor.

Your arm should be supported so that your upper arm is at heart level. Roll up your sleeve so that your arm is bare. Be sure the sleeve is not bunched up and squeezing your arm. If it is, take your arm out of the sleeve, or remove the shirt entirely.

You or your provider will wrap the blood pressure cuff snugly around your upper arm. The lower edge of the cuff should be 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the bend of your elbow.

Inflating the cuff too slowly or not inflating it to a high enough pressure may cause a false reading. If you loosen the valve too much, you will not be able to measure your blood pressure.

The procedure should be done two or more times.

Before you measure your blood pressure:

Take 2 or 3 readings at a sitting. Take the readings 1 minute apart. Remain seated. When checking your blood pressure on your own, note the time of the readings. Your provider may suggest that you do your readings at certain times of the day.

You will feel slight discomfort when the blood pressure cuff is inflated to its highest level.

High blood pressure has no symptoms, so you may not know if you have this problem. High blood pressure is often discovered during a visit to your provider for another reason, such as a routine physical exam.

Finding high blood pressure and treating it early can help prevent heart disease, stroke, eye problems, or chronic kidney disease. All adults 18 years and older should have their blood pressure checked regularly:

Your provider may recommend more frequent screenings based on your blood pressure levels and other health conditions.

Blood pressure readings are usually given as two numbers. For example, your provider might tell you that your blood pressure is 120 over 80 (written as 120/80 mm Hg). One or both of these numbers can be too high.

Normal blood pressure is when the top number (systolic blood pressure) is below 120 and the bottom number (diastolic blood pressure) is below 80 (written as 120/80 mm Hg).

If your blood pressure is 120-129/80, you have elevated blood pressure.

If your blood pressure is 130/80 or higher but lower than 140/90 mm Hg, you have Stage 1 high blood pressure. When thinking about the best treatment, you and your provider must consider:

If your blood pressure is 140/90 mm Hg or higher, you have Stage 2 high blood pressure. Your provider will most likely recommend you start medicines and make lifestyle changes.

Most of the time, high blood pressure does not cause symptoms.

It is normal for your blood pressure to vary at different times of the day:

Blood pressure readings taken at home are usually a better measure of your current blood pressure than those taken at your provider's office.

Many people get nervous at their provider's office and have higher readings than they have at home. This is called white coat hypertension. Home blood pressure readings can help detect this problem.

Diastolic blood pressure; Systolic blood pressure; Blood pressure reading; Measuring blood pressure; Hypertension - blood pressure measurement; High blood pressure - blood pressure measurement; Sphygmomanometry

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Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Internal review and update on 07/23/2023 by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.