Measuring Blood Pressure

Measuring Blood Pressure

To measure your blood pressure, an inflatable cuff is wrapped around your arm, and air is pumped in. The doctor or nurse, while watching the pressure gauge, listens with a stethoscope for your pulse to disappear. The pressure at which your pulse can no longer be heard corresponds to the systolic pressure. The cuff is released and the pressure at which your pulse can be heard again is the diastolic pressure.

Like the pressure in your car tires, pressure is measure in millimeters of mercury or mmHg. Typically, healthy people have a blood pressure at or below 120/80mmHg. Your risk of heart or CV disease has recently been found to begin increase at a much lower level, blood pressure of 115/75. Blood pressure above 120/80 is considered by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to be “pre-hypertenson”. A BP of 140/90 mmHg is considered too high, and represents a significantly increased risk of heart disease.


Unfortunately, high blood pressure is more common in certain racial and ethnic minority groups, including African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians/Alaska Natives.