What do blood pressure numbers mean? Blood pressure is measured using two numbers that are typically recorded as one number over another. The first, or top, number represents one's systolic blood ...

If you have hypertension, a health care professional may have recommended lifestyle changes to bring down your levels. Don’t ...

If your top blood pressure number is high, but your bottom number is in a healthy range, you may have a type of high blood pressure called isolated systolic hypertension (ISH).

Researchers say the top and bottom number are important in blood pressure readings. Both the systolic and diastolic are indicators when it comes to the risk of heart attack and stroke.

And importantly, the number that we think is most important in terms of identifying risk and predicting disease is that top number. That top number should be less than 120 millimeters of mercury.

The top number in a blood pressure reading is the systolic pressure. It indicates the maximum pressure exerted on the artery walls when the heart contracts and pumps blood into the arteries.

"The top number, known as systolic pressure (SBP) is the pressure in your arteries when your heart contracts. The number represents the effort your heart is using to course blood through your ...

The SPRINT research found targeting a blood pressure below 120 systolic (the top number) in people with hypertension — but no diabetes — prevented the most cases of heart disease and death.

Worldwide, researchers found that the number of people with high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, doubled from 648 million people in 1990 to 1.28 billion in 2019.