What is Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is the pressure of the flowing blood against the walls of the arteries. when the heart beats, it pumps out blood into the arteries.  The force against the walls of the arteries is called systolic pressure. When the heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. The force is the diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure is always stated first. For example: 120/80, systolic pressure is 120 and diastolic is 80.Blood pressure is given as these two numbers.

Blood pressure below 120 over 80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) is considered optimal for adults.  In America, standards recommanded for diagnosis of childhood normal blood pressure or hypertension based on gender, age and height.

• Normal blood pressure is define as systolic and diastolic blood pressure below the 90th for age and sex.
• Prehypertension in children is defined as a systolic or diastolic pressure equal to or greater than the 90th percentile but less than the 95th percentile.
• Hypertension in the young is defined as systolic or diastolic blood pressure that is repeatedly above the 95th percentile for age and sex.