What do the numbers in a blood pressure reading mean and what is a “healthy” blood pressure?
We typed “blood pressure” into Yahoo!’s dependable search box, then raced off to our first match, a blood pressure information page from Yahoo! Health. Scanning the table of contents, our pulse quickened as we noted a definition of blood pressure and detail on the meaning of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading. Blood pressure is “a measurement of the force applied against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood through the body. The pressure is determined by the force and amount of blood pumped and the size and flexibility of the arteries.” A reading consists of two numbers, for example: 112/77, which is read as “112 over 77.” The first number, systolic blood pressure, measures the maximum pressure exerted as the heart contracts, while the lower number indicates diastolic pressure, a measurement taken between beats, when the heart is at rest
