Blood Pressure Charts
What do my blood pressure readings mean?
Here we show a simple chart to help explain what your blood pressure readings mean.
A simple blood pressure chart
By using simple BP reading charts you can check if your blood pressure is normal. Regular monitoring and checking the numbers on a chart is important to understand how changes to your blood pressure can happen.
You can buy your own monitor to measure your blood pressure from leading online healthcare equipment distributors.
Blood Pressure Chart Readings Explained
A guide to blood pressure levels:
- Less than 120/80mmHg – blood pressure is at the ‘optimal’ level so follow a healthy lifestyle to keep it that way
- 121/81 – 129/84mmHg blood pressure is ‘average’ and you would benefit from lowering it
- 130/85 – 139/89mmHg – blood pressure is on the ‘high side of normal’ and should be lowered
- 140/90mmHg or above – if your blood pressure readings are consistently at or above this level you have ‘high’ blood pressure take action now to lower it
If the chart tells you that you have normal blood pressure you will be reassured but please read the full information on the high blood pressure page as everyone’s bp readings change over time.
When using charts for adult blood pressure you must consider ‘white coat hypertension’ which is when a higher blood pressure reading is taken because it has been taken in a medical environment which can artificially increase blood pressure levels for some people..
Lots of people now trust home monitors and take their own measurements which they can then check against accurate blood pressure charts. Confident that their readings taken at home are more realistic and reflect their normal blood pressure and they are happy to pass them on to their GP.
You can buy your own monitor to measure your bp from leading healthcare suppliers online here.