A low blood pressure reading is not an immediate cause for alarm. This stage occurs when the systolic blood pressure reading is below 90 mm HG or the diastolic blood pressure is below 60 mm HG. There are a few different types of blood pressure categories used to describe a blood pressure reading such as low blood pressure, elevated blood pressure, and more. What Are The Different Types of Blood Pressure Readings? The diastolic pressure number measures the lowest pressure between heartbeats or when the heart is resting before it pumps again.Įach number is measured in units of mm HG, or “millimeters of Mercury,” due to former blood pressure gauges using Mercury, though these have since been replaced with electronic monitors. The bottom number (80 in our example) is called diastolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure level when the heart is resting. When a heart contracts, it pushes extra blood throughout the circulatory system to reach different parts of the body, creating what is known as systolic pressure. The top number (120 in our example) is called systolic blood pressure, which measures how much pressure the blood exerts against the arteries. An example of a blood pressure reading would be:120/80. These numbers are known as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and the reading indicates what level of blood pressure a person is experiencing. When checking blood pressure, there are two different numbers, presented like a fraction, that measure when the heart is pumping blood versus when the heart is at rest.

Normal blood pressure chart for seniors