HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED...

What do the numbers mean when taking your blood pressure?

Blood pressure is really just that – the pressure at which blood moves around in your arteries. The easiest way to test the pressure is to momentarily stop the flow of blood and then slowly allow it to begin again.

Your doctor can do this by using a sphygmomanometer, the balloon-like cuff they put on your arm. While pumping the cuff up, they use a stethoscope to listen for a heartbeat. When they no longer hear it, they slowly release the pressure while watching the pressure gauge.

When they start to hear the heart beat again, this is the top number of blood pressure, known as systolic pressure (120-140 or above). They continue to release the pressure until they, once again, no longer hear the heart beating – this is the bottom number, known as diastolic pressure (80-90 or below).

Together these numbers tell them two things: the pressure that is inside your arteries between heartbeats (the bottom number) and the pressure inside arteries when the heart contracts (the top number).

The two numbers are recorded one above the other, 120/80.