“High blood pressure is defined as blood pressure of 130/80 or higher on at least two occasions,” said Dr. Deborah Levine, a professor of medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The top number, a person’s systolic blood pressure, measures the pressure against the walls of your arteries every time your heart beats. The diastolic pressure is the lower number on a reading, and measures the pressure against the artery walls when the heart is resting between beats.
Up until 2017, the threshold for what should be classified as hypertension was set at 140/90 mmHg. But research published around that time led the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and other health organizations to lower the definition of hyertension to 130/80 mmHg.
More:U-M study: Even slightly elevated systolic blood pressure pushes up stroke risk by 20%
Under the newer guidelines, blood pressure levels should be calculated with an average of two to three readings over at least two separate occasions.
- Normal is considered less than 120/80 mmHg.
- Elevated blood pressure occurs when a person has a systolic pressure of 120-129 mmHg (top number) and a diastolic pressure (bottom number) that’s lower than 80 mmHg.
- Stage 1 hypertension is classified as a systolic blood pressure between 130-139 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure between 80-89 mmHg.
- Stage 2 hypertension occurs when the systolic pressure is at least 140 mmHg or diastolic pressure at least 90 mmHg.
- A hypertensive crisis is a medical emergency and occurs when the systolic pressure is over 180 mmHg and/or the diastolic pressure is over 120 mmHg.
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