Blood pressure can be measured using either a machine of older version or an automatic digital machine. A sphygmomanometer is the older kind of medical equipment used to measure blood pressure using a column of mercury. The cuff is put around the top of your arm; you can pump the cuff and listen for sounds through a stethoscope placed in your arm. Blood pressure monitor numbers is given by the sound that starts and finishes at certain point on the mercury column. Automatic digital machines also have cuff placed around your arm and will give out the reading of your blood pressure.

Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is at its peak when the heart beats, pumping the blood called the systolic pressure. Heart at rest between beats, blood pressure falls called the diastolic pressure. Systolic and diastolic are two important blood pressure monitor numbers usually written one above or before the other. Systolic is the one above or first and diastolic is the second or bottom number. It is written like a fraction. Example is 120/80, read as “120 over 80”. Systolic pressure shows the pressure in the arteries when the heart forces blood through them. Diastolic pressure shows the pressure in the arteries when the heart relaxes. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury, written as mmHg.

Blood pressure changes during the day. Every person has different blood pressure and it varies depending on what the person is doing. As you sleep, it is at the lowest and rises when you get up. When excited, nervous, or active, it also rises. A pressure of 140/90 or higher is considered to be high blood pressure. High blood pressure may be caused by some medical problems or sometimes the specific cause is unknown. Normal blood pressure is usually less than 120 in systolic number and less than 80 in diastolic. Pre-hypertension is 120-139 in top number and 80-89 in bottom number. Blood pressure may vary in a single day in systolic with similar proportionate changes in diastolic pressure.

Every 20-point increase in systolic reading and 10-point increase in diastolic reading doubles the risk of heart attack or stroke. Loss of control on high blood pressure may put the person at risk for serious medical conditions. The higher the blood pressure, the higher is the risk for stroke or heart attack. Having a regular check of your blood pressure is important as this keep you tracked of your blood pressure and have a healthy lifestyle. This as well prevents you from having that risk for heart attack.