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Understanding Blood Pressure Numbers: What’s Healthy, What’s Not
In this video, cardiologists explain blood pressure numbers, what they mean for your health, and how you can maintain healthy BP levels.
Written by Lauren Smith, MA | Reviewed by Mera Goodman, MD, FAAP
Updated on February 27, 2023If you visit your doctor regularly, you may be used to having your blood pressure checked. But do you know what the numbers mean?
In this video, learn the difference between systolic blood pressure (the top number) and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number), as well as what is considered a healthy blood pressure.
Additional Medical Contributors (3)
- Rachel Bond, MD, FACCRachel Bond, MD, FACC, is a Cardiologist at Dignity Health and served as Associate Director of the Women's Heart Health Program at Northwell Health, Lenox Hill Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Cardiology at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine.
- Paul Knoepflmacher, MDDr. Knoepflmacher is a Clinical Instructor of Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where he also maintains a private practice.
- Michelle Weisfelner Bloom, MD, FACC, FHFSADr. Bloom is a Cardiologist, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Stony Brook University Medical Center, a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Failure Society of America.
References
American Heart Association. (n.d.). Understanding blood pressure readings.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Measuring high blood pressure.
View All References (3)
Unger, T, et al. (2020). 2020 International Society of Hypertension Global Hypertension Practice guidelines. Hypertension.
UpToDate. (2023). Overview of hypertension in adults.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). Get your blood pressure checked.
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