What Is Systolic Blood Pressure
Systolic blood pressure measures how much pressure your blood exerts against your artery walls. The pressure within our arteries changes with every heartbeat, says Ian Del Conde Pozzi, M.D., a cardiologist and vascular medicine specialist at the Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute. When the heart contracts, it pumps extra blood into the circulatory system, increasing the pressure. That increase is measured by systolic blood pressure.
Heart Rate Vs Blood Pressure
Blood pressure measures the force that moves blood through your blood vessels while your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute. They are both important health indicators, but they are measured independently and dont necessarily increase or decrease synchronously.
A temporary increase in heart rate, such as during exercise, is not considered problematic. In fact, your heart is expected to rise during a bout of activity and return to its resting rate afterward. And the more intense you work, the more you should expect your heart rate to rise during exercise. Your heart rate can safely double during activity so long as it returns to its resting rate relatively soon after you finish your workout.
Significant increases in blood pressure, on the other hand, are not normal and should be monitored and shared with your health care provider.
Scope Of The Clinical Practice Guideline
Interest in childhood hypertension has increased since the 2004 publication of the Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents . Recognizing ongoing evidence gaps and the need for an updated, thorough review of the relevant literature, the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Council on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety developed this practice guideline to provide an update on topics relevant to the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of pediatric HTN. It is primarily directed at clinicians caring for children and adolescents in the outpatient setting. This guideline is endorsed by the American Heart Association.
When it was not possible to identify sufficient evidence, recommendations are based on the consensus opinion of the expert members of the Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children Clinical Practice Guideline Subcommittee . The subcommittee intends to regularly update this guideline as new evidence becomes available. Implementation tools for this guideline are available on the AAP Web site .
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How To Take Blood Pressure
You can take your blood pressure at home using a wrist blood pressure monitor or an upper arm cuff blood pressure monitor. Experts typically recommend upper arm cuffs because they are the most accurate. Upper arm cuffs can come with either a manual or digital monitor. Both work well, but if youre measuring your blood pressure on your own regularly, a digital one will likely be easiest to use correctly.
To take your blood pressure accurately with a digital upper arm cuff, start by sitting quietly in an upright position for a few minutes, allowing your body a moment to relax. Be mindful to uncross your legs and ankles, as well as use comfortable support for your back.
With the monitor sitting on a table in front of you, place your arm next to itat approximately heart leveland place the cuff around your bare upper arm about one inch above your elbow. Secure the cuff so that you can only slide a fingertip under the top edge.
Next, simply turn on the monitor, press the start button, and take normal breaths as the cuff inflates and deflates, measuring your blood pressure and producing your reading on the screen.
How Do We Evaluate Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is not always consistent, and can vary even when the child is resting. Thus, elevated BP readings should be repeated and confirmed over several visits before a child is identified as having hypertension. The most precise measure of a child’s BP is an average of multiple measurements taken over several weeks by a health professional.
A common approach is to obtain 3 assessments from different days to more reliably measure blood pressure.
BP-for-age status categories and their related percentile ranges are shown in the following table:
| A Systolic and/or Diastolic BP Percentile of: | Suggests that a child has: |
| Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile | Hypertension |
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Normal Blood Pressure By Age Race And Gender
Previously, guidance for normal blood pressure for adults varied by gender and specific age, but new data states normal blood pressure for adults as a collective is less than 120/80 mmHgHigh Blood Pressure Symptoms and Causes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 7/16/2021. .
When it comes to race and ethnicity, Dr. Desai says certain groups have a higher rate of hypertension. Non-Hispanic Black people have a significantly higher rate of hypertension compared to non-Hispanic white people, and Hispanics and non-Hispanic Asians have lower rates than the first two, he says.
The reason for this variance can range from substandard insurance coverage and poor access to healthcare to gaps in the use of medications to treat multiple conditions with reduced compliance in certain groups, he adds.
As for gender, theres increasing evidence for risk of cardiovascular disease in women with blood pressures lower than what is considered normal, says Jennifer Wong, M.D., medical director of non-invasive cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
Overview Of Pediatric Vital Signs
Blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and temperature are the routine vital signs measured in medicine. These vital signs remain relatively constant throughout adult life. But children are not small adults, and normal vital signs are different as a newborn becomes an infant and then a child.
The normal values for blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiratory rate change as the newborn/infant/child grows and ages.
Body temperature does not change with age. However, body temperature may fluctuate depending upon the time of day, and a normal temperature may range between 97.0 F and 100.3 F . A rectal temperature of 100.4 F is considered a fever.
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What Is High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure means that there is higher than normal pressure inside the arteries either during systole , or during diastole .
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If the pressure is high during the pumping phase , then the first number recorded with a blood pressure reading will be high.
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If the pressure is high during the relaxation phase , then the second number recorded will be high.
High blood pressure is also called hypertension.
When Is The Blood Pressure Too High
Blood pressures vary depending on the age of your child, as well as according to height and weight, and the gender of your child. Generally, blood pressure is low in infancy, and rises slowly as children age. Boys’ blood pressures are slightly higher than girls’ are, and taller people generally have higher blood pressures than short people do.
For example, an infant may have a quite normal blood pressure of 80/45 mm Hg, while that value in an adult is considered low. A teenager may have an acceptable blood pressure of 110/70 mm Hg, but that value would be of concern in a toddler.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has prepared a series of age- and gender-specific blood pressure measurement tables for children ages 3 through 17 years, based on percentiles. A range of blood pressure values is given based on how old and how tall your child is. According to the tables, if your child has a blood pressure that is higher than 90 to 95 percent of other boys or girls his or her age and height, then he or she may have high blood pressure.
Again, many factors, including emotions, can affect blood pressure. Readings that are high compared to the values on the table may need to be investigated further by your child’s doctor.
The prevalence of hypertension and obesity in children age 8 to 17 has increased in all racial and ethnic groups since 2002.
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Blood Pressure Monitor Vs Blood Pressure Cuff
Blood pressure monitor and blood pressure cuff are two phrases often used to describe the same blood pressure measurement tool. The blood pressure cuff is the element that wraps around either the upper arm, wrist or finger to measure blood pressure. The blood pressure monitor is the element in charge of inflating and deflating the cuff, as well as providing your blood pressure reading on an easy-to-read display.
Most experts recommend using a blood pressure monitor with an upper arm blood pressure cuff for at-home readings because they tend to be more accurate than wrist cuffs and finger cuffs.
Obesity And High Blood Pressure In Children
Risk factors for high blood pressure in children include obesity and a family history of high blood pressure. Other risk factors may include medical problems such as hormonal abnormalities, narrowing of the aorta, sleep apnea or other sleep disorders.
Obesity is considered the primary risk for high blood pressure in children. Not only does being obese put your child at risk for high blood pressure, but also for a range of other health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
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Clinical Practice Guideline For Screening And Management Of High Blood Pressure In Children And Adolescents
POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated that they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated that they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.
Pediatrics
Joseph T. Flynn, David C. Kaelber, Carissa M. Baker-Smith, Douglas Blowey, Aaron E. Carroll, Stephen R. Daniels, Sarah D. de Ferranti, Janis M. Dionne, Bonita Falkner, Susan K. Flinn, Samuel S. Gidding, Celeste Goodwin, Michael G. Leu, Makia E. Powers, Corinna Rea, Joshua Samuels, Madeline Simasek, Vidhu V. Thaker, Elaine M. Urbina, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCREENING AND MANAGEMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IN CHILDREN Clinical Practice Guideline for Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics September 2017 140 : e20171904. 10.1542/peds.2017-1904
How To Help Your Child With High Blood Pressure
Help your child control high blood pressure by following the doctor’s plan carefully. In addition, you can take these steps.
- Make changes to diet and exercise a family affair. Everyone in the family will benefit from these healthy changes.
- Make sure your child has their blood pressure checked as often as recommended by your child’s doctor.
By working with your health specialist to develop a comprehensive health plan, you can help your child control high blood pressure — and enjoy many healthy years ahead.
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Why Monitor Blood Pressure
Hypertension is an important health issue in children, because of its association with obesity. High blood pressure is considered a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and high BP in childhood has been linked to high BP in adulthood.
This calculator can help to determine whether a child has a healthy blood pressure for his/her height, age and gender. In boys and girls, the normal range of blood pressure varies based on height percentile and age. This calculator automatically adjusts for differences in height, age and gender, calculating a child’s height percentile along with blood pressure percentile. The normal blood pressure range, while steadily increasing with age, will shift based on the child’s height.
If you mouse-over the graphs, you’ll see the data values for points you hover over. The pop-up will identify the percentile line, followed by the age , then the value being graphed . Mouse-over the subject’s data point to see the subject’s data values.
The BP reference data include the 50th, 90th, 95th, and 99th percentiles for age and height for both boys and girls. So the graphs on this page show the upper half of the blood pressure range found in children. Normal BP is defined as systolic and diastolic blood pressures that are below the 90th percentile. The systolic number represents BP in blood vessels when a heart beats. The diastolic number is the pressure in blood vessels between beats, when the heart is at rest.
What Are Causes Of High Blood Pressure In Kids
A child’s blood pressure might be high when it is measured for many reasons, such as stress, illness, recent physical activity, a true hypertension issue or a medical condition.
Causes of high blood pressure in kids can include:
- Obesity or being overweight
- High-sodium diet
- Congenital or acquired heart disease
- Thyroid or adrenal disease
- Genetic disorders
When a young child has high blood pressure, the cause is often a related medical condition, such as kidney disease. This is called secondary hypertension.
When high blood pressure has no disease-related cause, it’s called primary hypertension. Primary hypertension is more common in older children and teens and is commonly related to obesity or to a family history of hypertension.
“There is a growing trend in the number of children and teens who are overweight or have obesity, and this is a major cause of high blood pressure in kids,” says Smitha Vidi, M.D., a pediatric nephrologist at Children’s Health and Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern. “Additionally, kids are eating a lot of processed foods, which have very high amounts of salt. A high-salt diet is a big contributor to increasing blood pressures.”
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Blood Pressure Charts For Children
AAP Grand Rounds
Blood Pressure Charts for Children. AAP Grand Rounds November 2016 36 : 58.
Blood pressure data on 1,254 healthy children between the ages of 10 and 19 years were analyzed. Based on classification criteria in the Fourth Report, 103 participants were hypertensive and 143 prehypertensive. The sensitivity of the simplified chart in identifying both SBP and DBP hypertension and prehypertension was 100%, with specificities of 94.7% and 95.4%, respectively, of SBP and DBP hypertension and 99.3% and 98.3%, respectively, for SBP and DBP prehypertension.
The authors conclude that the simplified BP chart can be used to quickly and accurately identify school-age children with hypertension and prehypertension, with low rates of false positives.
Dr. Singer has disclosed no financial relationship relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
What Is Blood Pressure
Blood pressure, measured with a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope by a nurse or other health care provider, is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls.
Two numbers are recorded when measuring blood pressure:
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The higher number, or systolic pressure, refers to the highest pressure inside the artery. It occurs when the heart contracts and pumps blood into the body.
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The lower number, or diastolic pressure, refers to the lowest pressure inside the artery. It occurs when the heart relaxes and fills with blood.
Each time the heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries, resulting in the highest blood pressure, the systolic pressure, as the heart contracts, and the lowest blood pressure, the diastolic pressure, as the heart relaxes.
Both the systolic and diastolic pressures are recorded as “mm Hg” . This recording represents how high the mercury column is raised by the pressure of the blood.
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Childhood Obesity And Its Effects On Blood Pressure
- It is noteworthy that the increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States has not only affected adults but also children. As a result, population-based studies of pediatric weight will vary according to the period to time sampled – and will also affect – the prevalence of sleep apnea with its related impact on hypertension.
- The prevalence of childhood obesity has significantly increased since 1980 with approximately 30% of children who are overweight/obese .
- Children with high BMI are more likely to develop hypertension later in life compared to children with lower BMI
Blood Pressure Charts For Adults
| What is LOW Blood Pressure? |
|---|
| Blood pressure that is too low is known as Hypotension. |
| Systolic pressure |
| 90 | Stage 1 |
NOTE: A healthcare provider recommends you get your blood pressure checked at least once a year. If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure , your doctor may recommend getting it checked more often.
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Blood Pressure Chart: High Low Normal Readings
Published: 2017-11-19 – Updated: 2022-08-27Author: Disabled World | Contact: Disabled World Peer-Reviewed Publication: N/AJump to:Definition: Blood Pressure | Main Digest
Synopsis:Our Blood pressure chart shows if adults and children have high, low, or normal blood pressure according to their age. When blood pressure measurements are written, both numbers are written as one above – or before – the other, with the systolic reading being the first number and the diastolic blood pressure measurement the second number, for example, 120/75 . Systolic Pressure is the blood pressure reading when your heart beats. This reading is always the first or top number. Diastolic Pressure is blood pressure measurement when your heart relaxes. This is always the second or bottom number.