Normal blood pressure type
Diastolic blood pressure type
The blood pressure is the pressure the blood is exerting on the walls of the arteries. The blood
pressure in the arteries is subject to continuous variation during a heart cycle. The highest
pressure within this cycle is called ‘systolic pressure’ (SYS), the lowest pressure is called ‘diastolic
pressure’ (DIA). With these two blood pressure values, a doctor can determine a patient’s blood
pressure. Your blood pressure may be influenced by many different factors as physical effort,
anxiety or the time of the day etc. Generally, blood pressure is low in the morning and raises in the
afternoon towards the evening. In summer, blood pressure is lower than in winter.
WHY IS IT A GOOD THING TO MEASURE BLOOD PRESSURE AT HOME
Having one’s blood pressure measured by a doctor in a hospital or clinic environment tends to
stimulate nervousness in a patient and may lead to a higher blood pressure. Blood pressure varies
in accordance with a variety of conditions and so judgment is not always possible on the basis of a
single measurement. Blood pressure measured first thing in the morning after getting up, before
eating, and keeping still, is known as the fundamental blood pressure. In practice it is rather
difficult to record the fundamental blood pressure but measurement at home in the right
BLOOD PRESSURE CLASSIFICATION OF THE WHO
The standards for the determination of high or low blood pressure independently from the patient’s
age – as shown on the table – were determined by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Individual blood pressure is
subject to variations on a
day-to-day basis or in relation
to the time of the year. These
perceptible in patients with
high blood pressure. Usually,
during work and is lowest in
the night when sleeping. The
figure shows the variations of the blood pressure in the course of a day with measurements taken
every 5 minutes. The bold line represents the sleep phase. The increase in blood pressure at 4 pm
(shown as letter ‘A’ in the figure) and at midnight (shown as letter ‘B’ in the figure) mark pain events
12 13 14 15 1617 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 101 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11
