Blood Pressure Screenings
Monitoring blood pressure is a part of all wellness visits.
Your blood pressure reading measures two forces: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure.
- Systolic pressure is your blood pressure when your heart beats, pumping blood into your arteries.
- Diastolic pressure is your blood pressure when your heart rests between beats.
The American Heart Association (AHA) uses these categories for blood pressure:
- Normal: systolic less than 120 AND diastolic less than 80
- Elevated: systolic 120 to 129 AND diastolic less than 80
- High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Stage 1: systolic 130 to 139 OR diastolic 80 to 90
- High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Stage 2: systolic 140 or higher OR diastolic 90 or higher
- Hypertensive Crisis*: systolic higher than 180 AND/OR diastolic higher than 120
