Measuring High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood pumped from the heart against the walls of your arteries (or blood vessels). It reflects how high the pressure in your arteries is to raise a column of mercury (similar to the way your temperature raises mercury in a thermometer), and is recorded as millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
Blood pressure is read as two numbers: a top number (systolic pressure), or the pressure of blood in the vessels as the heartbeats; and a bottom number (diastolic pressure), or the pressure of the blood between heartbeats. Although the average blood pressure reading for adults is 120/80, a slightly higher or lower reading (for either number) may not be a problem. If you have heart disease or major risk factors such as smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, family history of heart disease or high blood pressure, or have gone through menopause (stopped having periods), your health care provider will help you aim for a lower blood pressure.
High blood pressure (or hypertension) in adults is defined as blood pressure that consistently exceeds 140/90 normally. Ask your health care provider to tell you what your blood pressure number is and what this means to you. Talk with your health care provider about ways to prevent, and if needed, to lower your blood pressure and about how often you need to have your blood pressure rechecked.
Many older people develop a form of high blood pressure called isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), which occurs when the top (systolic) number is high but the bottom (diastolic) number is normal. This type of high blood pressure also requires monitoring and treatment by your health care provider.
Blood Pressure Categories in Women (for women 18 years and older, who are not taking antihypertensive drugs, and are not acutely ill)
Category Systolic Diastolic
Optimal less than 120 less than 80
Normal less than 130 less than 85
High-normal 130-139 85-89
Hypertension
(High blood pressure)
Stage 1 140-159 90-99
Stage 2 160-179 100-109
Stage 3 180 or higher 110 or higher
Blood pressure level in mmHG
Taking your blood pressure
If you are on a program for control of high blood pressure, it is probably a good idea to learn how to take your own blood pressure. Blood pressure kits can be purchased at your local surgical supply store. The electronic digital type is easiest to use but you could also learn to use the standard blood pressure cuff with separate stethoscope. To get the most accurate results, make sure your equipment is in good working order. Have it checked periodically against the more accurate mercury-type blood pressure apparatus at your local hospital or doctor’s office. You can take your blood pressure at any time of the day but don’t take a reading just after smoking a cigarette or drinking a beverage with caffeine or if you have a full bladder. Take your blood pressure when you are relaxed and sitting up for at least 5 minutes. Start by taking the blood pressure in both arms. It is common for blood pressure readingsto differ by as much as 10 points. If the readings stay consistently similar, your doctor may suggest you use the arm with the higher reading. Ask your doctor what range your blood pressure should be and what to do should your blood pressure become too high or too low. Here are other guidelines:
1. Sit at a table with your arm comfortably extended. When using a digital machine, note the product instruction sheet for the best placement of your arm to increase the accuracy of the reading.
2. Place the cuff onto a bare upper arm. The cuff should fit snugly. It should wrap easily around the upper arm with some overlap. The edge of the cuff should be about one inch above the bend of the arm with the middle of the bladder (the rubber insert) over the brachial artery (locate the brachial artery by gently depressing your index and middle finger over the area and feeling for a pulse). Special cuffs are designed for those with a large upper arm. An improper reading will result if using a regular cuff on an obese person’s arm.
3. Inflate the cuff to 180 or as directed on the instructions. The numbers on the digital
scale will read on a screen when inflation and deflation have been completed. This is the number you record. Write down the date, time and blood pressure reading with the highe r 
number on the top and the lower number on the bottom. 4. If using a standard stethoscope, you may need someone to help you. Place the ear pieces into your ears and the diaphragm over the middle bend of the arm
where you felt the brachial artery pulse – just below the edge of the cuff. Squeeze the bulb to inflate the cuff quickly to 180 (or to 20 points above the last reading),
then slowly and carefully open the valve (located on the side of the bulb) to release the air.
Stethoscope
Listen carefully . Note the number reading when you first heard sound and the number reading when you last heard sound. Record these two numbers as noted above .
Note: The higher number is the Systolic pressure and is the pressure exerted on artery walls when the heart is in the contracting phase. The lower number is the Diastolic pressure
and is the pressure exerted on artery walls when the heart is in the resting phase. Blood pressure is considered normal if the systolic is less than 140 and the diastolic is less
than 90. When the bottom number goes above 90 and stays there, you are considered to have high blood pressure. | 
