Blood pressure: numbers, flow, and resistance
Blood pressure is recorded as systolic/diastolic (e.g. 120/80 mm Hg). Systolic pressure is the peak arterial pressure when the heart contracts; diastolic pressure is the minimum between beats. Two useful derived numbers follow: pulse pressure (systolic − diastolic) reflects stroke volume and arterial stiffness; mean arterial pressure (MAP) (roughly diastolic + (pulse pressure ÷ 3), or (2×diastolic + systolic)/3) estimates the average pressure driving blood to organs.
Guidelines classify blood pressure by ranges. In many contemporary systems (including WHO and many national guidelines), values around 120/80 mm Hg are considered optimal, while persistently higher values call for closer monitoring and professional follow-up — but cut-offs evolve, and home readings taken under standardized conditions often better reflect your usual level than a single rushed clinic reading. White-coat and masked hypertension are real, so averages matter.
Pressure is determined by cardiac output × total peripheral resistance. Cardiac output = heart rate × stroke volume; resistance depends on vessel diameter, blood viscosity, and overall tone. This is why exercise raises pressure temporarily (increased cardiac output), while severe vasodilation drops it. Understanding this relation is key: a medication can lower pressure by slowing the heart, reducing volume, or relaxing vessels — the numbers show the effect, not the mechanism.
Hypertension is a statistical and physiological concept defined by sustained elevation, not one unlucky reading. Track multiple readings at the same time of day (rested, seated for 5 minutes, arm at heart level, no caffeine/smoking in the prior 30 minutes) and average them. If readings stay high over days or weeks, that is the signal — not a single outlier.