What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is a general term used to refer to the level of pressure in your blood vessels. In order for your blood to reach all of your body's organs, it needs to be pumped out of the heart at a certain level of pressure so that the blood circulation in your body is maintained. Blood pressure is generally measured in mmHg (millimetres of mercury),

This value is influenced by your heart's power, the level of resistance in your arterial blood vessels, the blood quantity and other regulatory systems.

Systolic and diastolic value

The systole (the higher value when measuring) indicates the pressure prevailing in the vessel when the heart muscle contracts and pumps blood into the body. The lower "diastolic" value, i.e. the diastole, represents the pressure at the moment the heart relaxes.

A systolic blood pressure above 140 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure above 90 mmHg is classed as high blood pressure or hypertension. The optimal value for an adult is a resting value of 120 over 80 mmHg.

Blood pressure fluctuations are normal. Even with a repeat measurement, considerable differences between the measured values can occur. One-off or irregular measurements therefore do not provide reliable information about the actual blood pressure. A reliable assessment is only possible if you measure regularly under comparable conditions.