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ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE
What is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted on the artery
walls while blood flows through the arteries. The pressure
measured when the heart contracts and sends blood out of
the heart is systolic (highest) blood pressure. The pressure
measured when the heart dilates with blood flowing back
into the heart is called diastolic (lowest) blood pressure.
Why Measure Your Blood Pressure?
Among today’s various health problems, those associated
with high blood pressure are very common. High blood
pressure dangerously correlates with cardiovascular
diseases. Therefore, blood pressure monitoring is
important for identifying those at risk.
BLOOD PRESSURE STANDARD
The table on page 6 is criteria for hypertension that is
publicly available from the National Heart Lung and Blood
Institute at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
(http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Hbp/HBP_WhatIs.html)
.
Users can compare their own blood pressure readings
against these established criteria to determine if they may be
potentially at increased risk.
This table is applicable to most adults aged 18 and older.
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