Maintaining normal blood pressure levels is one of the most critical aspects of good health.
Blood pressure is the amount of pressure it takes for your heart to push blood through your blood vessels and arteries. It’s the force with which blood pushes against artery walls, allowing your heart to move oxygen throughout your body, with your heart working like a pump and your blood vessels acting as pipes.
Normal, healthy blood vessels and arteries are flexible and can expand and contract as needed to maintain steady blood flow. But when blood vessels and arteries become stiff and are unable to dilate and relax, then the force needed to move blood through them increases.
Your blood pressure level is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps, and how the blood vessels react to or resist that force.
It takes into account two different pressure readings:
Systolic—measures how much pressure is exerted when your heart pumps blood through your blood vessels.
Diastolic—measures how much pressure exists when your heart is at rest, in between beats.
What is blood pressure?
