How to Read a Blood Pressure Monitor for High Blood Pressure

Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
Updated on September 03, 2024
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As living standards improve, a blood pressure monitor has become an essential medical device in households. Electronic blood pressure monitors are very convenient for measuring blood pressure, especially for patients with hypertension. They allow patients to measure their blood pressure timely and adjust medication dosages accordingly. How to read a blood pressure monitor varies with different models. Typically, on an electronic blood pressure monitor, the first line displays the systolic pressure, also known as high blood pressure; the second line displays the diastolic pressure, also known as low blood pressure; and the third line displays the heart rate. These readings can help you know your systolic and diastolic pressures.

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Cardiology
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Hypertensive crisis blood pressure values

At any stage of hypertension development and other disease emergencies, severe life-threatening blood pressure increases can occur, requiring emergency treatment. Hypertensive crises include hypertensive emergencies and hypertensive urgencies. Hypertensive emergencies refer to severe blood pressure increases within a short time—hours or days—with diastolic pressure greater than 130 mmHg and/or systolic pressure greater than 180 mmHg, accompanied by severe dysfunction or irreversible damage to critical organs and tissues such as the heart, brain, kidneys, retina, and major arteries. Hypertensive urgencies may present as increased blood pressure but without obvious target organ damage.

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What is the blood pressure in a hypertensive crisis?

Hypertensive crisis is a relatively urgent medical condition in clinical settings. Its diagnostic criterion is a diastolic pressure greater than 130 mmHg. Naturally, the higher the blood pressure, the greater the threat. A hypertensive crisis can lead to many clinical symptoms, such as acute left heart failure, dizziness, headache, cerebral hemorrhage, and acute renal failure. The most common causes of hypertensive crisis are primary or secondary hypertension, which, under certain specific circumstances, lead to uncontrollably high blood pressure and related clinical symptoms. The focus of treatment is on controlling the blood pressure and choosing different treatment plans for complications. For instance, in the case of heart failure, vasodilators and diuretics may be used for symptomatic treatment.

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Written by Chen Tian Hua
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Is high diastolic pressure considered high blood pressure?

If the diastolic blood pressure exceeds 90 mmHg, hypertension should also be considered. Patients with a high diastolic blood pressure who do not actively undergo hypotensive treatment can suffer long-term damage to target organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys, as well as severe hypertensive complications. For patients with high diastolic blood pressure, it is also necessary to adopt effective lifestyle adjustments and choose clinically frontline antihypertensive drugs for long-term treatment. Only by effectively controlling elevated diastolic pressure in the long term can severe target organ damage and hypertensive complications be avoided, thus improving the clinical prognosis for patients with hypertension.

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Written by Chen Tian Hua
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What is the standard for high blood pressure?

The standard for hypertension is a systolic pressure of 140 mmHg or higher and a diastolic pressure of 90 mmHg or higher. Whether it is systolic or diastolic pressure, if either exceeds the normal range, it is considered hypertension. People with hypertension need to actively undergo antihypertensive treatment. Long-term effective control of blood pressure to meet standards is necessary to reduce the harm caused by elevated blood pressure to the body. If high blood pressure is not effectively controlled, long-term elevated blood pressure can cause damage to the heart, brain, and kidney target organs, and even lead to severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications, thus severely affecting the patient's health and even endangering the patient's life.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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Symptoms of hypertension

Hypertension is a common and frequently occurring disease clinically. Mild hypertension often has no clinical symptoms and is usually detected during physical examinations when measuring blood pressure reveals an increase. In cases of severe hypertension, individuals with long-term high blood pressure may experience dizziness, a feeling of pressure in the head, and headaches. In serious cases, symptoms can include tinnitus and palpitations, requiring the use of effective antihypertensive medications for management. If patients with hypertension do not use medications to manage their condition, long-term high blood pressure can cause significant harm to the body, leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension-induced heart disease, and stroke. (Please use medications under the guidance of a doctor.)