Serial Blod Pressure Readings Classify Hypertension

As the blood is forced throughout our body, there is a pressure that is exerted on the walls of our arteries, this is known as blood pressure. We see blood pressure represented as two numbers, the systolic (top) and the diastolic (bottom) numbers. The systolic blood pressure is the heart contracting and the diastolic is the heart relaxing. A normal, healthy, blood pressure would be written as 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) or verbally expressed by most individuals as 120 over 80. Our blood pressure can vary depending on many things. When the diastolic or systolic pressure is high, or significantly and consistently above 120/80 mmHg, this is what we call hypertension. There are different stages or degrees of hypertension. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins (2010) describes the stages as the following: Serial blood pressure readings classify hypertension: - Prehypertension: Systolic blood pressure greater than 120 mmHg but less than 90 mmHg. - Stage 1 hypertension: Systolic blood pressure greater than 139 mmHg but less than 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure greater than 89 mmHg but less than 100 mmHg. - Stage 2 hypertension: Systolic blood pressure greater than 159 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure greater than 99 mmHg. (p. 58) Hypertension can be identified as either primary or secondary hypertension. Primary hypertension is the most common and is typically due to factors like age, race, level of stress, obesity, diet, tobacco use, and/or alcohol consumption in