Your blood pressure has two numbers - top and bottom. We know that a healthy blood pressure is less than 120/80. But what exactly do each of those numbers measure? During an interview on WLTX-TV this week, Dr. Kenya Cooper of Lexington Family Practice Gilbert, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice, answered that question.
The top number is the systolic blood pressure. It measures the pressure in your arteries and vessels when the heart is in the middle of a beat. The bottom number is diastolic. That's the pressure when your heart is relaxed between beats. Healthy numbers should be at or below 120/80. Recently, new guidelines for high blood pressure were released. Now, anything over 130/80 is considered high blood pressure. Previously, it was 140/90. That will mean a lot more people have high blood pressure - and will prompt physicians to make interventions sooner.
For more information about high blood pressure, and to test your knowledge with a quiz, visit LexMed.com/Know.
