Blood pressure values
To determine the blood pressure, two
values need to be measured:
● Systolic (upper) blood pressure:
This is produced when the heart mus-
cle contracts and blood is forced into
the blood vessels.
The World Health Organization (WHO, 1999) has defined the following cut-off
values for assessing blood pressure:
High blood pressure
Borderline normal blood pressure
Normal blood pressure
Optimum blood pressure
● Diastolic (lower) blood pressure:
This is present when the heart muscle
expands and fills with blood again.
Blood pressure measurement values are
expressed in mmHg (mm of mercury).
systolic
over 140 mmHg
130 to 139 mmHg
120 to 129 mmHg
up to 119 mmHg
diastolic
over 90 mmHg
85 to 89 mmHg
80 to 84 mmHg
up to 79 mmHg
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