Is my Blood Pressure too High?
Yes, if your blood pressure is higher than 140/90.
As you can see, blood pressure is read from two numbers. The first number is called the systolic and the other is called the diastolic. The two numbers tell us something about how much pressure there is inside your veins. Your blood pressure is too high if the first number is higher than 140 or if the other number is higher than 90.
Your blood pressure varies during the day. Blood pressure depends on your physical and mental condition. If you are exposed to physical strain – from for example exercising – the blood pressure rises. If you are stressed, pressured or afraid, the blood pressure also rises. A single reading of a too high blood pressure does not mean that your blood pressure is too high continuously. Only a continuously too high blood pressure affects your health and should be treated.
The blood pressure should be measured during special circumstances. If you have just run up some stairs to reach your appointment, your blood pressure is high. Therefore, the measurement must be performed after at least 5 minutes rest. Since blood pressure can vary from day to day, it should be read several times over a few months. As a rule of thumb, your blood pressure should be measured as being too high at least three times over 4-5 months before the doctor diagnoses you with too high blood pressure.
It is your own doctors repeated measurements of your blood pressure that determines whether you have a continuously too high blood pressure. A random measurement at the hospital or at the pharmacy does not say anything about how your blood pressure is under more ‘normal’ circumstances. If you, for example, are admitted for surgery you are nervous and may be in pain. Pain and nervousness makes your blood pressure rise but that does not mean that your blood pressure is too high continuously or that you should be medicated.
If your blood pressure has been measured too high on one occasion, you should contact your doctor.