"It's 120 over 80," your doctor says. But what does your blood pressure reading mean?

Video Transcription

Among people who have high blood pressure, 30% do not even know about it. Not getting treatment for hypertension is bad news. Because, up to 70% of strokes are directness all on the condition plus high blood pressure contributes to heart attacks and kidney failure. To side step, these consequences a doctor should test you blood pressure at every check up. Blood pressure is measured in two ways. One measurement refers to systolic pressure which records blood pressure when the heart is contracting. The other measure is diastolic pressure where the force when the heart is relaxed. Blood pressure measurement is usually written as systolic over diastolic. Optimal blood pressure is below 120 over 80. While, a measure above 140 over 90 is classified as hypertension. Blood pressure that lies in the middle is called a pre hypertension. It means that the patient is at risk of developing high blood pressure.