Medical Evaluation by Your Doctor
Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). This table is for people who aren't taking blood pressure-lowering medications and aren't acutely ill. When the systolic and diastolic numbers fall into different categories, the higher of the two numbers (top and bottom) is used to classify your blood pressure. Diagnosing high blood pressure is based on the average of two or more readings taken at each of two or more visits after an initial screening.
Classification of blood pressure for adults 18 and older
| Category |
Systolic (mm Hg) |
|
Diastolic (mm Hg) |
| Normal* |
Less than 120 |
and |
Less than 80 |
| Prehypertension |
120-139 |
or |
80-89 |
| Stage 1 |
140-159 |
or |
90-99 |
| Stage 2 |
160 or higher |
or |
100 or higher |
From the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. National Institutes of Health. May 2003.
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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