What is blood pressure and how do you take it?

Answer 1

It is a reading using a blood pressure cuff that gives you two numbers, the top being 'systolic' and the bottom being 'diastolic'. The systolic pressure is achieved when the left ventricle is pumping blood out into the body, the diastolic blood pressure is achieved when the left ventricle is relaxing.

A "normal' blood pressure is 120/80. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is over 140 systolic or over 90 diastolic. Disease states may dictate different goals for blood pressure.

Answer 2

Blood pressure is also called systemic arterial pressure and is the pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is calculated in mmHg or millimeters of Mercury by measuring resting pressure and forceful pressure.

Answer 3

Blood pressure is measured by a quick, painless test using a medical instrument called asphygmomanometer. A rubber cuff is wrapped around a person's upper arm and inflated. It compresses a large artery in the arm, momentarily stopping the blood flow. Then the air in the cuff is released and the person measuring the blood pressure listens with a stethoscope. When the blood starts to pulse through the artery, it makes a sound. The person listening and watching the sphygmomanometer gauge records two measurements.

Answer 4

Blood pressure is measured in a fraction form: x/y, where x is the systolic pressure, or pressure when the heart is beating and y is the diastolic pressure, or the pressure when the heart is at rest. normal blood pressure is considered to be 120/80 inches of mercury (in Hg.) The difference in these two numbers is the pulse pressure, which is basically how hard your heart is working.

Blood pressure is measured with a device called a sphygmomanometer.

Answer 5

Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. If you have high or low blood pressure there is a medicine to lower or maintain good blood pressure.