A proven way to check your blood pressure is to measure your blood pressure. Blood pressure charts can help understand the risk levels. These charts define the minimum, normal and maximum range for each age group. Read on to know more about blood pressure and charts that help manage it well.
Medical research indicates more than 23% of adults living in the United States suffer from high blood pressure. The irony is a large number of them do not know about this medical condition. Increase in blood pressure can trigger adverse effects on your arteries and can also damage some of your essential organs.
The best way to know your blood pressure is check it regularly. Sphygmomanometer is the equipment used for measuring it. Your blood pressure shows up as two (2) important numbers.
#1. Systolic pressure – This is the pressure experienced when your heart dispatches blood to other parts of the body. It indicates maximum pressure in the pumping cycle.
#2. Diastolic pressure – It is the pressure measured when the heart gets filled with blood. This is the minimum point of pressure over a single heartbeat.
The unit of blood pressure is millimetres of mercury (mm Hg); read as systolic upon diastolic. For example: 120 / 80 mm Hg. The charts below indicate the levels of blood pressure across various age categories.
Blood pressure charts
These charts below can help you understand the age-wise range blood pressure.
Chart for those aged between 15 to 39 years
Chart for those aged between 40 to 64 years
Signs of high blood pressure
Some of the signs of hypertension are arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat, pain in chest region, weariness, confusion, headache, breathing problems, etc. If you experience any of these symptoms, you are advised to seek medical support without any further delay.
Risks related to high blood pressure
Hypertension is treated with a well-planned approach. In the absence of proper care or if left untreated high blood pressure can damage many parts of the body. The key risks are stroke, cardiac attacks, dysfunction of kidneys, blurring of vision, etc. If your family history has cardiac problems, diabetes or strokes – then you need to be more watchful of the risk factors. Other risks factors include obesity, smoking, consumption of alcohol, sedentary lifestyles, etc. Intake of drugs such as stimulants (such as amphetamines), diet pills, etc. can also cause an increase in blood pressure.
Intake of some drugs can also lead to a drop in blood pressure. This condition is called hypotension. Such drugs include angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, water pills (diuretics), calcium-channel blockers, beta-blockers, etc.
Secondary hypertension is another related medical condition triggered by another disorder. Some disorders such as apnea, narrowing of blood vessels, renal problems, etc. can alter your blood pressure. Not stopping with these, intake of birth control pills, substance abuse (especially alcohol), etc. can also cause this condition.
In general, several unalterable factors do contribute to changes in your blood pressure. These are race (African-Americans are more prone to an incidence), gender (women are less vulnerable than men) and age (the risks increase as you age)
A balanced diet, an agile physical life, stress-less way of living can help control your blood pressure level. Periodic checking of your blood pressure can help assess your cardiac health. In case of deviations in blood pressure, meet your doctor. It can also be an age-related occurrence.
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of Florida. Experience: 5 years as a pharmacist and medical writer, creating content on medication management and pharmaceutical news for healthcare blogs and patient education sites.
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