Blood pressure is a measure of how hard the
blood pushes against the walls of your arteries.
It is recorded as two numbers: systolic blood
pressure, which indicates the pressure as
your heart is pumping; and diastolic blood
pressure, which indicates the pressure between
heartbeats, when the heart is relaxed.
Adults should have a blood pressure of less than
120/80. When blood pressure is higher than
140/90, it starts to damage the blood vessels,
heart, and kidneys. High blood pressure, also
known as hypertension, is called a “silent killer,”
because it doesn’t usually cause symptoms while
it is causing damage.