Precisely What Do We Mean When Speaking Of Normal Arterial Blood Pressure?

Our blood pressure is continually changing and it is extremely rare for a person to have a blood pressure level which is always the same no matter what. Almost everything we do will have an affect on our blood pressure which will move up and down as we go about our normal day to day business. Simple things such as walking, taking a shower, mowing the lawn, talking, walking the dog, drinking, watching television, sleeping, eating and almost anything else you care to mention can affect your blood pressure.

While changes in our blood pressure are simply a fact of life it can of course create difficulties for doctors who need to be able to use blood pressure to monitor your general health. The challenge therefore is to try to establish a blood pressure level which we can consider to be a normal average and then establish limits below and above this figure which will represent the normal range of blood pressure change. The starting point here is to look at the pressure in the arteries of the body when the heart is pumping freshly oxygenated blood around the body.

Our blood transports a mixture of nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body through a network of blood vessels beginning with the main aorta taking blood from the heart and ending in a mass of tiny capillaries.

The first thing which needs to be considered therefore is exactly how much pressure is needed in the aorta when the blood leaves the heart for it to reach its destination in distant corners of the body.

Thereafter, the second thing which needs to be considered is how much pressure is needed in the capillaries in order to move the oxygen and nutrients into the tissues of the body.

Careful study over many years has shown that the best arterial pressure to deliver blood to every area the body and to enable the movement of oxygen and nutrients into the tissues of the body is 120 mm Hg. This value represents the average arterial pressure when the heart is pumping blood around the body and is generally known as the systolic pressure.

like most things in life though a pressure slightly above or below this figure will not make a great deal of difference and your body will continue to function quite normally. However, if your blood pressure gets too high or drops too low then you will begin to run into trouble.

So just what are the lower and upper limits within which the average individual should be able to continue to operate normally?

Here things become a little bit blurred and the answer varies from one individual to the next. Nonetheless as a general rule the upper limit for blood pressure in most individuals will be approximately 140 mg Hg and the lower limit will be approximately 90 mg Hg.

Possibly the most important starting point however is to establish the figure which is right for you and which takes into account such things as your age and general health as well as your lifestyle. Once you have agreed this figure with your physician it is then simply a matter of monitoring you blood pressure.