Blood Pressure

Blood Pressure

Vascular pressure, or blood pressure as it is more commonly referred to, is a vital indicator of health and fitness in all people and is determined by calculating how much force is placed on the walls of blood vessels by circulating blood. Unlike vascular pressure, arterial pressure is the force at which blood travels through the arteries, arterioles, capillaries and veins in the body and usually decreases as it travels to extremities farther away from the heart.

When measuring arterial pressure, a sphygmomanometer (a device that provides measurements based on the level of mercury in an glass column or cylindrical glass tube) is commonly used to determine the amount of circulating pressure and is considered to be non-invasive way of measuring blood pressure. While most modern blood pressure devices no longer contain mercury, pressure level values continue to be reported in millimeters of mercury, or mmHg. Systolic arterial pressure refers to the point of measurement when pressure is at its highest in the arteries, which normally occurs at the beginning of the cardiac cycle; however, diastolic arterial pressure is measured when pressure in the arteries is at its lowest (usually in between cycles). The pulse pressure refers to the difference in maximum and minimum pressure level values, and the total overall pressure during the cardiac cycle is referred to as the mean arterial pressure level.

When a healthy adult is resting, the average systolic pressure reading is 120 mmHg (16 kPa) and the normal diastolic reading would be in the range of 80 mmHg (11 kPa). When writing this particular pressure level, it would be shown as 120/80 mmHg and spoken as “one twenty over eighty”. While the 120/80 mmHg is considered to be average for healthy adults, readings can vary considerably based on other factors such as age, fitness and health. Arterial blood pressure is not constant and changes frequently based on many different factors and undergoes fluctuations that are both natural and to be expected. In fact, blood pressure levels can vary as frequently as one heart beat to the next.Things that cause blood pressure levels to rise and fall are: stress, nutrition, drugs or alcohol and disease.

Blood pressure levels that are either too high or too low can be a cause of concern and may lead to other health problems. The condition associated with elevated blood pressure levels is known as hypertension, and when pressure levels are too low, hypotension is the term used to name the condition. The only basic health test performed more than a blood pressure check is the measuring of the body’s temperature with a thermometer.

Your good health should be your most prized asset and if you have a blood pressure concern, research all the information you can find. Don’t be afraid to take professional advice and discuss your blood pressure concerns with your medical practitioner. Consider what you have learned and work on maintaining a healthy blood pressure level and maintaining good health.

This article is a simple overview of blood pressure and its many facets. For more in depth information on this subject and all other cardiac fitness related topics, use reliable specialist sites that deal with blood pressure issues.

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