Update: October 2018

As long as you have this parameter within the normal range, you do not think about it. Interest in this parameter appears from the moment when its failures turn into a tangible health problem. At the same time, there is a popular and scientific approach to assessing this indicator - blood pressure, for brevity referred to as the abbreviation blood pressure.

What is BP

Another immortal hero of Petrov and Ilf, Ostap Suleiman Berta Maria Bender-Zadunaisky, subtly noted that “a column of air with a force of 214 kilos presses on every citizen.” So that this scientific and medical fact does not crush a person, Atmosphere pressure balanced by blood pressure. It is most significant in large arteries, where it is called arterial. The level of blood pressure determines the volume of blood pushed out by the heart per minute and the width of the vascular lumen, that is, the resistance to blood flow.

When the heart contracts (systole), blood is pushed into the large arteries under pressure called systolic. In the people it is called the top. This value is determined by the strength and frequency of contractions of the heart and vascular resistance.
The pressure in the arteries at the moment of cardiac relaxation (diastole) gives an indicator of the lower (diastolic) pressure. This is the minimum pressure, completely dependent on vascular resistance.
If you subtract the diastolic pressure from the systolic BP figure, you get the pulse pressure.

Blood pressure (pulse, upper and lower) is measured in millimeters of mercury.

Measuring instruments

The very first blood pressure devices were Stephen Gales' "bloody" devices, in which a needle was inserted into the vessel, attached to a tube with a scale. The Italian Riva-Rocci put an end to the bloodshed by suggesting that a mercury monometer be attached to a cuff placed on the shoulder.

Nikolai Sergeevich Korotkov in 1905 proposed to attach a mercury monometer to a cuff placed on the shoulder and listen to the pressure with the ear. Air was pumped out of the cuff with a pear, the vessels were compressed. Then the air slowly returned to the cuff, and the pressure on the vessels weakened. With the help of a stethoscope, pulse tones were heard on the vessels of the elbow bend. The first beats indicated the level of systolic blood pressure, the last - diastolic.

Modern monometers are electronic devices that allow you to do without a stethoscope and fix pressure and pulse rate.

How to measure blood pressure correctly

Normal blood pressure is a parameter that varies depending on the activity of a person. For example, during physical activity, emotional stress Blood pressure rises, with a sharp rise can fall. Therefore, to obtain reliable blood pressure parameters, it must be measured in the morning without getting out of bed. In this case, the tonometer should be located at the level of the patient's heart. The cuffed arm should lie horizontally at the same level.

There is such a phenomenon as “white coat hypertension”, when a patient, regardless of treatment, persistently gives out an increase in blood pressure in the presence of a doctor. Also, blood pressure can be slightly raised by running up the stairs or straining the muscles of the legs and thighs during the measurement. To have a more detailed idea of the level of blood pressure this person, your doctor may recommend keeping a diary of your blood pressure. different time days. Also use the method daily monitoring when using the apparatus attached to the patient, the pressure is recorded for a day or more.

pressure in adults

So how are u different people Because there are physiological characteristics, the fluctuations in blood pressure levels in different people may differ.

No concept age norm BP in adults. In healthy people at any age, the pressure should not cross the threshold of 140 to 90 mm Hg. Normal blood pressure is 130 to 80 mm Hg. The optimal numbers “like an astronaut” are 120 to 70.

Upper pressure limits

Today, the upper limit of pressure, after which a diagnosis is made arterial hypertension, is 140 to 90 mm Hg. More high numbers cause should be identified and treated.

First, a change in lifestyle is practiced, smoking cessation, feasible physical exercise.
With an increase in pressure to 160 to 90, drug correction begins.
If there are complications of arterial hypertension or comorbidities(CHD, diabetes), drug treatment starts at lower levels.

During the treatment of arterial hypertension, the norm of blood pressure, which they are trying to achieve, is 140-135 at 65-90 mm Hg. In persons with severe atherosclerosis, the pressure is reduced more smoothly and gradually, fearing sharp decline BP due to the threat of a stroke or heart attack. For kidney pathologies, diabetes, and those under 60, the target numbers are 120-130 to 85.

Lower pressure limits

The lower limits of blood pressure in healthy people are 110 to 65 mm Hg. At lower numbers, the blood supply to organs and tissues worsens (primarily the brain, which is sensitive to oxygen starvation).

But some people live their whole lives with BP 90/60 and feel great. Former athletes with hypertrophied heart muscle tend to have low blood pressure. For older people, it is undesirable to have too low blood pressure because of the risks of brain catastrophes. Diastolic pressure in those over 50 should be kept within 85-89 mm Hg.

Pressure on both hands

The pressure on both hands should be the same or the difference should not exceed 5 mm. Due to the asymmetrical development of the musculature on right hand usually the pressure is higher. A difference of 10 mm indicates probable atherosclerosis, and 15-20 mm indicate stenosis large vessels or anomalies in their development.

Pulse pressure

The black rectangles are the pulse pressure in different departments heart and large vessels.

Normal pulse pressure is 35+-10 mm Hg. (up to 35 years 25-40 mm Hg, at an older age up to 50 mm Hg). Its decrease can be caused by a drop in the contractility of the heart (heart attack, tamponade, paroxysmal tachycardia, atrial fibrillation) or a sharp jump in vascular resistance (for example, during shock).

High (more than 60) pulse pressure reflects atherosclerotic changes in the arteries, heart failure. It can occur with endocarditis, in pregnant women, against the background of anemia, intracardiac blockades.

By simply subtracting the diastolic from systolic pressure specialists do not use it, the variability of pulse pressure in a person has a greater diagnostic value and it should be within 10 percent.

Table of blood pressure norms

Blood pressure, the norm of which varies slightly by age, is reflected in the above table. BP is slightly lower in women at a young age against the background of less muscle mass. With age (after 60), the risks of vascular accidents are compared in men and women, so blood pressure norms are equalized in both sexes.

pressure in pregnancy

In healthy pregnant women, blood pressure does not change until the sixth month of pregnancy. Blood pressure is normal in non-pregnant women.

Further, under the influence of hormones, some increases can be observed that do not exceed 10 mm from the norm. At abnormal pregnancy preeclampsia can be observed with jumps in blood pressure, damage to the kidneys and brain (preeclampsia), or even the development of seizures (eclampsia). Pregnancy against the background of arterial hypertension can worsen the course of the disease and provoke hypertensive crises or a persistent increase in blood pressure. In this case, the correction drug therapy, observation by a therapist or treatment in a hospital.

Normal blood pressure in children

For a child, blood pressure is higher, the older his age. The level of blood pressure in babies depends on the tone of the vessels, the conditions of the heart, the presence or absence of malformations, the condition nervous system. For a newborn, normal pressure is 80 to 50 millimeters of mercury.

What is the norm blood pressure corresponds to one or the other. childhood, can be seen from the table.

The norm of pressure in adolescents

Adolescence begins at the age of 11 and is characterized not only by rapid growth of all organs and systems, a set of muscle mass, but also hormonal changes that affect the cardiovascular system. At 11-12 years old in adolescents, blood pressure ranges from 110-126 to 70-82. From the age of 13-15, it approaches, and then equalizes with adult standards, amounting to 110-136 by 70-86.

Causes of high blood pressure

Essential arterial hypertension (hypertension, see) gives persistent increases in pressure and.
Symptomatic hypertension(tumors of the adrenal glands, diseases of the renal vessels) gives a clinic similar to hypertension.
characterized by episodes of jumps in blood pressure, not exceeding 140 to 90, which are accompanied by autonomic symptoms.
isolated rise lower pressure inherent renal pathologies(developmental anomalies, glomerulonephritis, atherosclerosis of the renal vessels or their stenosis). If diastolic pressure exceeds 105 mm Hg. for more than two years, the risk of cerebral accidents increases by 10, and a heart attack by five times.
diseases of the hypothalamic-pituitary system.

With a slight hypotension, people live quite fully. When upper blood pressure drops significantly, such as in shock, lower blood pressure is also very low. This leads to centralization of blood circulation, multiple organ failure and the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Thus, for a long and full life, a person should monitor his pressure and keep it within the physiological norm.

In conditions modern life all more people faced with high blood pressure. This can often be a sign of a serious illness.

Signs of high blood pressure

Increased pressure may not manifest itself in any way, but be revealed only when medical examination. But usually when the pressure rises, headaches, dizziness or nausea occur. You may feel a pulsation in temporal region palpitations, tinnitus, pressing pain in the region of the heart, occur visual disturbances. At the same time, a person's performance decreases.

The most dangerous condition is when the pressure rises sharply - a hypertensive crisis occurs. Appears strong headache, constriction in the chest. Nausea, vomiting, and decreased vision may occur.
There are many reasons causing an increase pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the cause of this condition.

Signs of low blood pressure

Less often there is a decrease in pressure. Usually this condition occurs against the background of fatigue and weakness of the body. The main symptoms of low blood pressure:

dizziness,
darkening in the eyes
pain in the temples or neck,
feeling of lack of air
increased sweating,
numbness of the hands.

There may be pain in the region of the heart, palpitations, rare cases- fainting. In people with reduced pressure there is a decrease in memory, absent-mindedness, irritability, a tendency to depression.

normal blood pressure

Normal human pressure indicates that for the movement of blood inside circulatory system there are no pathological obstacles that can disrupt the heart rhythm.

When determining pressure, the following are taken into account:

systolic pressure (upper) - when the heart muscle contracted as much as possible. Shows the force with which blood is pushed out by the heart;
diastolic (lower) pressure - pressure at the moment of complete relaxation of the heart muscle. The value of this indicator for determining the state of vascular tone. The tone of the walls of blood vessels is affected by renin produced by the kidneys. If its production is disturbed, vascular tone and diastolic pressure increase.

What pressure is considered normal? The rate of human pressure is influenced by lifestyle, gender, age, emotional level, the presence of bad habits, the physiological characteristics of the body.

The table below shows that each age has its own norms:

With physical exertion, the pressure rises, but quickly normalizes in healthy person. Drinks containing caffeine and tonin can raise blood pressure. Medicines can change the pressure, and in any direction.

Blood pressure in children

The pressure in children is always lower than in an adult.

In newborns, it is approximately 80/50, with the age of children it rises and becomes 120/80 by adulthood.

What pressure should be in children is determined by the formula: 80 + 2N, where N is age. This is how systolic pressure is calculated. 2/3 of this number is the normal diastolic pressure of children.

This takes into account the physiological parameters of children - height, weight. If they differ from the age norm, then the indicators of normal pressure also change.

It is necessary to measure the pressure in children when they are calm. During games in children, it rises, so at this time it cannot be measured.

pressure during pregnancy

A woman preparing for motherhood should know what her normal pressure. This is necessary to compare indicators during pregnancy and before it occurs. Need daily, being in calm state, measure pressure to quickly respond to deviations.

Normal blood pressure in pregnant women is between 100/60 and 140/90. In the middle of pregnancy, the volume of blood that passes through the placenta increases, because of this, the value of the indicator increases by 20-30 mm Hg. Art. This condition is considered normal.

Of course, every pregnant woman has her own normal pressure, depending on the physiological characteristics of women.

Diagnosis and treatment of hypertension

Hypertension is a disease in which the blood pressure is consistently elevated. Its danger is that destruction is accelerating blood vessels possible heart attack, stroke, kidney failure.
Hypertension is seen in men early age than in women. Therefore, the pressure of men, starting from the age of 30, must be controlled. Estrogens protect women before menopause.

Main reasons:

overweight,
heredity,
kidney and endocrine diseases,
deficiency of magnesium and vitamin D.
passive lifestyle,
stress,
having bad habits.

For diagnosis, pressure is measured several times a day. different days. For diagnosis, it is important comprehensive examination. According to human blood tests, the state of the kidneys, the level of cholesterol in the blood, sugar, and hormones are determined. The cardiogram shows the condition of the heart. For treatment, two or three drugs are usually prescribed at the same time. In men, some drugs can reduce potency. At the same time, in men who ignore treatment, reproductive performance decreases.

Medication will not desired result with an unhealthy lifestyle. Therefore, you need to eliminate bad habits. Importance is physically active, especially overweight. Reduce salt intake, eat foods rich in magnesium, sea fish or fish fat. In heart failure, hawthorn is useful. Garlic helps to thin the blood and relax blood vessels. Can be taken nutritional supplements containing magnesium, coenzyme Q10.

Diagnosis and treatment of hypotension

Hypotension is a disease characterized by chronic low blood pressure associated with disorders of the nervous system and vascular tone. It is less common in men than in women. Allocate primary and secondary hypotension.

Primary hypotension is observed in a person throughout life, is physiological feature and is considered normal, drug treatment is not required. To improve the general condition, tonic drinks are recommended. Can be used infusions of ginseng, eleutherococcus to stimulate the nervous system. Good result gives a massage.

When a decrease in pressure negatively affects a person’s condition, this is pathological hypotension. Usually, kidney and cardiovascular disorders, diseases of the nervous system manifest themselves in this way. In this case, the treatment is directed to the disease that caused the decrease in pressure.

Each person has their own standard. To find out, you need to measure the pressure several times while at rest, and derive the arithmetic mean.

Normal blood pressure is one at which a person feels good. And if you feel worse, you should be examined by a qualified specialist.

Blood pressure is an individual physiological indicator that determines the force of blood pressure on the walls of blood vessels.

In many ways, blood pressure depends on how the human heart works and how many beats per minute it can make.

Normal human pressure is an indicator that can vary depending on the physical load on the body.

Thus, during active training or strong emotional experiences a person's normal blood pressure can rise and go beyond the norm.

Ideal at rest is considered a pressure indicator of 110/70. Low blood pressure starts at 100/60. Increased (hypertension) - from 140\90.

The critical (maximum) indicator is 200/100 or more.

A person's normal blood pressure can also change after physical activity. If the heart at the same time copes with its functions, then the change in blood pressure is not a deviation. So after sports loads a person's blood pressure can rise to 130/85.

There are such factors that have a significant impact on the normal pressure (including intraocular, intra-abdominal, etc.) of a person:

The person's age and general health. It is important to know that existing diseases (especially chronic pathologies kidney, heart, venereal or viral diseases) can significantly increase blood pressure.
The presence of diseases that can thicken the blood (diabetes mellitus).
The presence of progressive deviations in pressure (hypertension, hypotension).
The condition of the heart and the presence of diseases in it.
Atmosphere pressure.
Hormone levels thyroid gland and menopause in women.
Hormonal disruptions in the body that narrow the arteries and blood vessels.
General elasticity vascular walls. In older people, the vessels wear out and become brittle.
The presence of atherosclerosis.
Bad habits(smoking, drinking).
Emotional condition person (frequent stresses and experiences are negatively reflected in the normal pressure of a person).

Normal blood pressure has some differences in women, adult men and children.

In the event that a person has failures in this indicator and problems with jumps in blood pressure, he needs an urgent medical assistance and medical treatment.

In addition to this, a lot important role the pulse rate also plays, since the blood pulse is inextricably linked with venous pressure.

Normal blood pressure in humans: upper and lower pressure

Before considering what upper and lower blood pressure is, let's give a classification of blood pressure according to WHO.

There are such stages of elevated blood pressure according to WHO:

The first stage is accompanied by a stable course of hypertension, without deterioration in the functioning of internal organs.
The second stage involves the development of pathologies in one or two organs.
The third stage affects not only the organs, but also the systems of the body. In addition, the following degrees of AD are distinguished:
- border state, at which the indicators are not more than 159/99.
- The second degree is moderate hypertension (179/109 or more).

Normal blood pressure in a person is a relative concept, since for each individual (separate) organism there are certain normal indicators of the tonometer.

Before understanding what a person's normal blood pressure is, it is important to find out what upper and lower blood pressure is.

Not everyone knows what upper and lower blood pressure is, and it is often confused. talking in simple words, upper or systolic pressure is an indicator that depends on the frequency of contraction and the strength of the myocardial rhythm.

Lower or diastolic pressure is an indicator that reveals the minimum pressure during the decrease in the load (relaxation) of the heart muscle.

What should be the blood pressure by age and gender?

In men, the norms are:

At 20 years old - 123/76.
At 30 years old - 130/80.
At 50-60 years old - 145/85.
More than 70 years - 150/80.

In women, normal blood pressure readings are as follows:

At 20 years old -115/70.
At 30 years old - 120/80.
At 40 years old - 130/85.
At 50-60 years old - 150/80.
More than 70 years - 160/85.

As you can see, blood pressure levels increase with age in both men and women.

Normal blood pressure in a person is inextricably linked with his pulse, which can also indicate various diseases and pathologies in the body (especially in the kidneys and blood vessels).

By itself, the pulse is nothing more than periodic contractions that are associated with the oscillation of the vessels when they are filled with blood. With reduced vascular pressure the pulse will also be weak.

Normally, at rest, a person's pulse should be 60-70 beats per minute.

Allocate different norms heart rate for people of different age categories:

In children from one to two years old - 120 beats per minute.
In children from three to seven years old - 95 strokes.
In children from eight to 14 years old - 80 strokes.
Adolescents and young adults have 70 strokes.
In the elderly - 65 strokes.

Normal pressure in a person during pregnancy does not go astray until the sixth month of bearing a child. After that, due to the influence of hormones, blood pressure may increase.

In the event that the pregnancy proceeds with deviations or pathologies, then jumps in blood pressure may be more noticeable. In this condition, a woman may experience a persistent increase in blood pressure. At the same time, she is recommended to register with a therapist and go to the hospital under the supervision of a doctor.

Before considering the units in which blood pressure is measured, you should understand the rules of the procedure itself for setting blood pressure indicators.

Man must take sitting position with back support.
Before measuring pressure, it is not recommended to physically overstrain, smoke, eat, or take alcoholic beverages.
It is necessary to use only a working mechanical device for changing blood pressure, which will have a normalized scale.
The person's hand should be at chest level.
During the procedure, you can not speak or move.
In measuring the magnitude of the pressure of both hands, you need to take a break of ten minutes.
Your blood pressure should be measured by a doctor or nurse. On your own, a person will not be able to accurately determine his pressure.

Not everyone knows in what units blood pressure is measured and what the “mmHg” indicators mean. Art. In fact, everything is simple: these units of measurement of blood pressure mean millimeters of mercury. They show on the device how high or low the blood pressure is.

After we figured out in what units blood pressure is measured, we will give the main causes of deviations from the norm.

Violations of pressure in the body can develop according to the most different reasons. It can be physical overwork, starvation, or simple stress that has greatly affected a person's condition. Usually, in this state, the indicators themselves stabilize when the body returns to normal, the person eats, rests and sleeps well.

A more serious reason high blood pressure progressive diseases such as vascular atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, acute viral or infectious diseases. In this state, a person may suffer from jumps BP, and obvious signs hypertension.

One more common cause failure in AD is sharp narrowing vessels that have arisen due to hormonal influence as well as emotional stress.

Taking certain drugs, heart disease, bleeding disorders and excessive physical activity can also affect the failure in this indicator.

Improper nutrition and malfunction endocrine system usually has a bad effect on blood pressure in both young and old people.

The difference between systolic and diastolic pressure: norm and deviation

Blood pressure has two main indicators:

Systolic.
diastolic.

There is a significant difference between systolic and diastolic pressure. The norm of the upper (systolic pressure) is determined by the level of pressure in the human blood at the moment of the strongest (limiting) contraction of the heart.

Thus, the rate of systolic pressure directly depends on the frequency of heart beats and the number of its contractions.

There are such factors that affect the rate of systolic pressure:

The volume of the right ventricle.
The frequency of oscillations of the heart muscle.
A measure of the stretching of the walls in the aorta.

The normal systolic pressure is 120 mm. rt. Art. Sometimes it is called “heart”, but this is not entirely correct, because not only this organ, but also vessels are involved in the process of pumping blood.

The norm of diastolic pressure depends on the level of blood pressure at the moment of maximum relaxation of the heart. Thus, the norm of diastolic pressure is 80 mm Hg.

Therefore, there is a fairly significant difference between systolic and diastolic pressure.

The norm, however, is still individual for each person, depending on the state of health, age and gender.

High blood pressure or hypertension (hypertension) usually occurs in older people. This disease is considered very dangerous because it can lead to a stroke, that is, a rupture of a vessel in the brain.

Such a deviation may develop for the following reasons:

Overweight person (obesity).
strong nervous strain, frequent stress and psycho-emotional instability.
chronic diseases internal organs.
sedentary image life.
Diabetes.
The use of alcoholic beverages.
Smoking.
Wrong nutrition.
genetic predisposition person to this disease.

During hypertension, a person suffers from terrible headaches, weakness, shortness of breath, dry mouth, heart pain and weakness.

In this state, the patient should be given urgent help and consult a doctor until the disease caused dangerous complications. It is also important to identify the root cause of hypertension, and, together with high blood pressure, treat the factor that provoked its appearance.

Hypotension is a condition in which a person has low blood pressure. In this case, the patient will feel severe weakness, nausea, dizziness.

This condition can be caused by:

Anemia.
Heart attack.
Prolonged fasting.
Diseases of the adrenal glands.

Blood pressure refers to the force with which the flow of blood acts on the walls of blood vessels. The values of its indicators are related to the speed and strength of the contractions of the heart and to the volume of blood that the heart is able to pass through itself within a minute. In medicine, there are certain norms for blood pressure, according to which a person's condition is assessed. They reflect the degree of efficiency with which the organism as a whole and each of its systems separately functions.

Blood pressure is individual indicator, the value of which depends on various factors. The main ones are called:

Under the influence of all these features, a person's blood pressure may differ from the norm. Therefore, normal blood pressure is a relative concept. During the examination, the doctor needs to take into account not only the norms, but also the characteristics of the human body.

There is also a dependence of a person's blood pressure on his age, the time of day when the measurement was taken, the patient's lifestyle and many other factors. Age causes changes in every organ and system, and blood pressure does not avoid it. Therefore, the norm of blood pressure takes into account differences according to age.

Features of measuring indicators

To find out what pressure is inherent in a particular person, it must be measured. For these purposes, intended special device, which is called "tonometer". There are several types of them, the most convenient of which for home use considered automatic.

Blood pressure is measured in adults and children in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). As a result of measurements, two numbers are obtained, the first of which reflects the upper (systolic) pressure, and the second - lower (diastolic).

According to these figures, as well as the norms of blood pressure according to age, it is possible to draw conclusions about how the patient's pressure corresponds to normal indicators.

It should be borne in mind that for each person, the normal pressure may differ from that of other people. To determine your own blood pressure rate, you need to take several measurements at different times. It is even better to consult a doctor who will explain at what time it is better to measure this indicator and help draw the right conclusions.

The following circumstances may affect the measurement results:

Therefore, having discovered deviations in this indicator, you should not immediately think about how to normalize the pressure. The procedure should be repeated several times, it is likely that the increase in pressure was the result of an error or its cause was the patient's condition.

What results are considered normal?

In adults and children, blood pressure indicators differ, which is quite explainable by the difference in the functioning of an adult and child's body. However, there are also differences in blood pressure values in patients whose age is mature. Therefore, norms for people according to their age are derived. And although these values are considered to be optimal, one must be aware of individual differences.

The normal blood pressure is as follows:

Since age causes various changes in the human body, they should be taken into account when measuring pressure. Children and adolescents can often have low blood pressure, while the elderly are characterized by a higher value.

However, there are cases when BP does not rise in older people.

What is the normal pressure in a person, the table below will reflect.

According to the table, it can be seen that the higher the age of the patient, the higher this indicator can be.

When exactly are there problems?

The pressure of a person should be as close to normal as possible. If these indicators deviate, you need to find out the reason why this happens. If you are sure that the deviations are not the result of erroneous actions during the measurement, you need to make sure that such a value of blood pressure is not an individual norm for a person. The doctor will do this best by spending a daily allowance.

If the indicator is not normal for this patient, you need to find out what caused this problem.

The fact that the body is not functioning properly is evidenced by how high pressure, and low. The situation is especially dangerous when abnormal blood pressure indicators are accompanied by other symptoms, due to which the patient cannot fully function.

Elevated blood pressure may be accompanied by:

Headache.
Pain in the region of the heart.
Labored breathing.
Insomnia.

The main diseases that occur with high blood pressure:

Diseases of cardio-vascular system.
Eye diseases.
Kidney disorders.
Problems with the central nervous system.

Low blood pressure is often associated with the following symptoms:

Increased fatigue.
General weakness.
Sweating.
Problems with memory and attention.

Although low blood pressure does not cause serious consequences, it negatively affects the general tone of the patient, therefore, it also requires attention from doctors.

Do you need medical help?

Despite the fact that blood pressure should be normal, the patient should understand the pointlessness of going to the doctor with the episodic appearance of this disorder. You should be wary when blood pressure deviates systematically from the norm and is accompanied by other signs of problems with the body. In this situation, you need to get the help of a doctor. Will be held necessary diagnostics and the doctor will prescribe treatment.

It is also necessary to consult a doctor with a sharp change in blood pressure, due to which the patient's well-being has deteriorated greatly. If there have already been such cases, and the doctor has recommended any drugs, you can use them to relieve an attack. But if this happens for the first time, it is better not to use any medication without the knowledge of the doctor.

Blood pressure, like any other characteristic human body there are certain rules. In the absence of the influence of external circumstances and individual properties of the patient, blood pressure should be in accordance with this norm. However, many factors influence the value of blood pressure, including age features patient, which must be taken into account when drawing conclusions.

In contact with

, reliable information from the diabetics themselves with many years of experience in the course of the disease

Arterial pressure.

Blood pressure level, which at hypertension can fluctuate over a very wide range, is usually the leading sign this disease.

First of all, we should dwell on the very concept of "high blood pressure", since a clear idea allows us to prevent errors in diagnosis, in particular, the adoption of physiological abnormalities for initial signs hypertension or, conversely, a pathologically caused increase blood pressure for the age limit.

According to WHO standards, the upper limits normal level blood pressure is considered to be 160 mm Hg. Art. (systolic) and 95 mm (diastolic). Some authors believe that the zone between 140 and 160 mm (for systolic), 90 and 100 (for diastolic) should be considered "dangerous", "borderline" or "conditional", but at the same time not yet a pathological condition.

However, such criteria cannot satisfy the doctor, unless age indicators are taken into account. Very rational in this sense was the division of the boundaries of the norm of blood pressure, which was carried out in clinics led by N. D. Strazhesko. M. V. Konchalovsky and some other prominent domestic clinicians, where systolic pressure equal to 100 plus the age of the subject (140 mm Hg for persons 40 years old, etc.) was taken beyond the normal range.

It is most expedient to use the standards proposed by 3. M. Volynsky with colleagues (1954) and E. P. Fedorova (1955). In their opinion, hypertension should be considered pressure over 140 mm (systolic) and 85 mm (diastolic) : 140/85 for persons 17 - 30 years old, 140/90 - 31 - 40 years old, 145/90 - 41 - 50 years old and 150/90 - over 50 years old. With the conclusions of these authors in relation to persons of senior age groups the results of extensive clinical and dispensary studies conducted at the Institute of Gerontology of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences (D. F. Chebotarev, O. V. Korkushko, N. N. Sachuk, I. I. Voloshchenko, 1964; D. F. Chebotarev, 1967, 1969; D. F. Chebotarev, A. V. Tokar, 1967), which allow, in particular, to consider the maximum allowable physiological level in the elderly and old people as 160 and 95 mm. Persons whose blood pressure rises steadily to a higher level need to be carefully examined. Most often, this is associated with hypertension or other pathological changes cardiovascular system, usually of atherosclerotic origin, and both make it necessary. carrying out appropriate therapeutic and preventive measures.

In hypertension, as a rule, there is an increase all quantities determined according to N. S. Korotkov blood pressure, namely, systolic, diastolic and the difference between them, i.e., pulse pressure, usually systolic pressure changes most of all. However, if we proceed from the normal values of systolic and diastolic pressure, then their increase as a percentage of the initial values will not differ much. In the primary measurement (the influence of emotional factors or a previous more or less pronounced physical tension) blood pressure is usually slightly elevated, so it is called random.

With repeated measurements - 5-15 minutes after the initial one - the so-called main pressure is detected, which, as a rule, differs in lower values. The difference between the values of random and the main pressure is called additional pressure. Influence external environment the least susceptible are blood pressure indicators measured in the conditions of the study of basal metabolism (at complete rest, after sleep, in bed, on an empty stomach) and such pressure is also often called the main one.

Blood pressure levels can vary greatly throughout the day. In the morning it is usually lower than in the evening, at rest it is lower than after certain loads, including after eating. The decrease in pressure during night sleep in hypertensive patients is more pronounced than in healthy people. Depending on the stage, clinical variant, form and nature of the course of hypertension, individual features the patient's blood pressure level fluctuates over a very wide range.

Its highest numbers are observed with rare malignant form of the disease or with severe hypertensive crises(250/140 - 300/170 mm and above). If in most cases the height of blood pressure corresponds to the severity of the disease, then often such parallelism is not observed.

Already in the 1st stage of the disease, a transient, sometimes very significant, increase in pressure is noted and, on the contrary, in the 3rd stage, with especially pronounced organic changes in internal organs, it is steadily increased, but to a relatively low level. At severe complications (myocardial infarction, stroke, etc.) blood pressure, primarily systolic, is usually significantly reduced, sometimes to normal. In these cases, hypertension is referred to as "headless".

For many years, the question of how much the level of increase in blood pressure affects subjective sensations and general condition patients, which is primarily due to the frequent absence of parallelism between these deviations. If in some cases, with relatively low blood pressure, patients note heaviness, pulsation or noise in the head, irritability, significant fatigue and other phenomena, then in others, despite the high level of pressure, there are no indications of any noticeable subjective feelings.

Cases of the development of hypertension with an increase in systolic pressure up to 180 - 220 mm and diastolic - up to 100 - 120 mm are described in engineering and technical workers, accountants, doctors who did not make any special complaints, successfully continued for a number of years, the usual labor activity and showed no obvious signs of disease progression.

Of the observed cases of asymptomatic development of hypertension with relatively high level blood pressure in 31% of patients first appeared, these or other subjective sensations only after they became aware of the presence of high blood pressure and this disease, which was explained mainly by psychogenic factors. Examples like these underline the need for widespread medical examinations and early detection hypertension, occurring at the beginning often without subjective signs.