Blood Pressure

The term blood pressure is often used and ‘thrown around’ especially when an individual claims to be ‘suffering high blood pressure’ or when adverts suggest individuals should ‘watch their blood pressure’. However, even though the term is regularly used and is a common phrase in daily routine very few people fully understand what it is and what actually constitutes high blood pressure.

So, what actually is Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is simply the force that is exerted by the blood on the blood vessel walls as it circulates around the body. As this pressure decreases as the blood travels further away from the heart, the term blood pressure commonly refers to the pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries as the blood is pumped away from the heart.

How can an individual’s Blood Pressure be measured?

When blood pressure is analysed and assessed there are two measurements taken, the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure is the pressure at its peak, at the beginning of the cardiac cycle (when the ventricles are contracting). The diastolic pressure on the other hand is the lowest pressure experienced during the resting phase of the cardiac cycle. Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury, as the height of a mercury level was historically used to record blood pressure. Even though mercury is very rarely used in modern society the measurements remain. Instead an electronic reading is taken using a sphygmomanometer cuff that is, often, tied around the upper left arm. The cuff is inflated and deflated as required, until a reading is recorded by the device connected to the cuff.

The Results of Blood Pressure analysis Once an individual’s blood pressure is measured the results can be analysed;