Diastolic Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Each time the heart beats, it pumps blood through the arteries. Your blood pressure is at its highest when the heart beats, forcing blood into the arteries. This is called systolic pressure. When the heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is the diastolic pressure. Blood pressure is always given as two numbers, the systolic and diastolic pressures. Both are important. The systolic pressure is the first or top number, and the diastolic pressure is the second or bottom number (for example, 120/80). If your blood pressure is 120/80, you say that it is "120 over 80".

Both of these numbers do not need to be high for you to have high blood pressure. Either one or both can be high for you to have high blood pressure.

The diastolic blood pressure has been and remains, especially for younger people, an important hypertension number.

Research has shown that higher diastolic blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and other serious conditions.

As people become older, especially after the age of 55, the diastolic pressure will begin to decrease, while the systolic blood pressure usually begins to rise and becomes more important.

A rise in systolic blood pressure will also increase the chance for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and other serious conditions.

Your physician will use both the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure to determine your blood pressure category and appropriate prevention and treatment activities.

Blood Pressure Guide

• Blood Pressure Basics
• Blood Pressure and Anxiety
• Blood Pressure Diagnosis and Measurement
• Blood Pressure and Hypertension
• Blood Pressure Prevention
• Causes Of Hypertension
• Checking Your Blood Pressure
• Diastolic Blood Pressure
• Exercise and Blood Pressure
• High and Low Blood Pressure
• High Blood Pressure in Children
• High Blood Pressure in Overweight People

• High Blood Pressure and Pre-eclampsia in Pregnancy
• High Blood Pressure - Risk Factors
• Treatment of High Blood Pressure
• Women with High Blood Pressure
• High Blood Pressure (The Silent Killer)
• Hypertension and Prehypertension
• Low Blood Pressure
• Malignant Hypertension
• Measuring Blood Pressure
• Postural Hypotension
• Reducing High Blood Pressure without Drugs
• Systolic Blood Pressure
• Types of High Blood Pressure