Medicine & Health
What is Blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the force your blood pushes against artery walls as your heart pumps. It's written as two numbers — systolic (heart beating) over diastolic (heart resting) — like 120/80. Sustained high pressure quietly damages your heart and vessels.
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Watch a 2-minute lesson with voice + animation that explains blood pressure.
Key things to understand
- 1The force of blood against your artery walls.
- 2Written as systolic over diastolic, e.g. 120/80.
- 3Around 120/80 mmHg is considered normal.
- 4Chronic high pressure damages the heart silently.
Frequently asked questions
- What do the two blood pressure numbers mean?
- The top (systolic) is the pressure when your heart beats; the bottom (diastolic) is when it rests between beats.
- What is a normal blood pressure?
- Around 120/80 mmHg is normal; consistently 140/90 or higher is high (hypertension).
- Why is high blood pressure called a silent killer?
- It usually has no symptoms while it quietly strains your heart, arteries, kidneys, and brain over years.