Your Blood Pressure

What is blood pressure?

With each beat of the heart, blood is pumped out of the heart into the blood is pumped out of the heart into the blood vessels, which carry your blood throughout your body. Your blood pressure is a measurement of the pressure or force inside your arteries with each heartbeat.

How is blood pressure measured?

A doctor or nurse can listen to your blood pressure by placing a stethoscope on your artery and pumping up a cuff placed around your arm. The blood pressure is read on a special meter. It is recorded as two numbers:

Systolic blood pressure – the first number; the amount of pressure against the artery walls each time the heart contracts or squeezes blood out of your heart.
Diastolic blood pressure – the second number; the amount of pressure inside your arteries when your heart is at rest, in between heartbeats.
Your blood pressure recording is not always the same. When you are exercising or excited, your blood pressure goes up. If you are at rest, your blood pressure will be lower. This is a normal response to changes in activity or emotion. Age, medications, and changes in position can also affect blood pressure.

What is a normal blood pressure reading?

To decrease the risk of cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) disease, normal blood pressure, for those not taking blood pressure medications, should be less than 120/80.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is also called hypertension.
• One in three American adults has hypertension, this represents about 50 million people. Up to half of them don’t know it until they suffer a stroke or myocardial infarction (heart attacks). This is why hypertension is known as the "silent killer."
• 34 million adults have high normal blood pressure. At least 1/3 of all heart attacks and strokes occur in people with high normal blood pressures.
• Fewer than half of all Americans have ideal blood pressures.

MEASURING YOUR HEART RATE
Heart rate is widely accepted as a good method for measuring intensity during aerobic exercises. Exercise that doesn't raise your heart rate to a certain level and keep it there for 20 minutes won't contribute significantly to cardiovascular fitness.

The heart rate you should maintain is called your target heart rate. If you are in good health, you need to set a target zone for the heartbeat, according to your age. Your target zone should be 60% to 75% of your maximum heart rate.

Target Heart Rate Table
Age	Maximum Heart Rate Beats per minute (220 minus your age)	Target Zone 60%	Target Zone 75%
50	170	102	127
55	165	99	123
60	160	96	120
65	155	93	116
70	150	90	113

Your maximum heart rate is usually 220 minus your age.
However, the above figures are averages and should be used as general guidelines. Take your pulse during your exercise to determine your heart rate: Put the first and second finger of your right hand on the radial artery of the inner wrist of your left hand. Count the number of beats in 30 seconds and multiply by 2 (equals heartbeats per minute). Take your pulse 5 minutes into your exercise, and again just before ending it.