Blood Pressure: Normal Range by Age in Males and Females in India

Hypertension is the leading contributor to heart diseases globally. Symptoms like hyperventilation, excessive sweating and discomfort could be a sign of high blood pressure. Take preventative measures with comprehensive testing. Get a complete blood profiling done to assess the underlying risks and complications.

What is  blood pressure and its normal values?

The heart is one of the most vital organs in the human body. It supplies the other organs and tissues of the body with oxygenated blood, by ‘pumping’ blood into arteries with each heartbeat. The blood when pumped, moves around the body with a pressure on the walls of the blood vessels. This pressure is known as blood pressure, which consists of two values:

• Systolic blood pressure: It is the pressure that arises when the heart beats. This  pressure is caused when the heart muscle is contracting and pumps oxygenated blood out into the arteries.
• Diastolic blood pressure: It is the pressure on the walls of blood vessels whenever the relaxation of heart muscles occurs. Therefore, it is observed that the diastolic pressure is always lower as compared to the systolic pressure.

Blood pressure is measured in units of millimetres of mercury and the unit used written as mmHg. The readings are noted in pairs, one value denotes the  systolic blood pressure value first, and the other value denotes the lower diastolic blood pressure value.

So a patient with a reading of 132/88 mmHg (referred as “132 over 88”) has a

• systolic blood pressure  which is of value 132 mmHg, and a
• diastolic blood pressure which is of value 88 mmHg.

There are different readings for blood pressure when measured either on different days or different times of the same day. In case majority of the blood pressure measurements are very high, then the physician diagnoses it as  high blood pressure, irrespective of either the systolic blood pressure or the diastolic blood pressure being on the higher side.The technical term used for high blood pressure is Hypertension.

In  most adults, the blood pressure value which is considered to be normal is a systolic value of 140 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure  value of 90 mmHg, ie., 140/90mmHg.

Whenever the blood pressure is measured for the first time, it is noted from both arms, because it is observed that sometimes the blood pressure is high when measured in one arm. The values of blood pressure which are higher are noted and considered for treatment. Following this the blood pressure is measured in the arm that depicted the higher reading. 

High blood pressure is noticed and treated only after severe symptoms arise. The symptoms include dizziness or trouble seeing. It is observed that long term presence of high blood pressure increases the risk of heart and heart related problems like heart attacks, strokes, and problems related to vital organs. So in order to monitor high blood pressure it is necessary to have your blood pressure checked periodically. The persistent high readings are confirmed as high blood pressure and treatment includes ways of lowering your blood pressure to reduce the long-term health problems.

Effects of Abnormal Blood Pressure

If the high blood pressure persists for a longer period of time it can cause heart and heart related (heart and blood vessel) diseases and vital organ damage. The reported long-term ill effects of high blood pressure are as mentioned below:

• Weak blood circulation in legs
• Heart failure 
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Damage to the vital organs such as the kidneys

Therefore, it is essential to diagnose and adopt proper treatment to lower the risk of developing above symptoms.

Normal Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is quantified by measuring the values on different days and at different times in a day. The values that are most repeatitive are noted and low or high blood pressure is denoted. The  two of the pressures are either the systolic or the diastolic one if it is high then it is considered to be high. High blood pressure is also known as hypertension and low blood pressure is known as hypotension. So, in adults, the blood pressure values  are considered to be normal if the systolic value is 140 mmHg and a diastolic value is  90 mmHg.

Hypertension

Hypertension is one of the major causes of  morbidity and mortality worldwide which causes heart attack and stroke. Hypertension is treatable but the early diagnosis and appropriate treatment is necessary for increasing the life expectancy in such patients. The environmental, pathophysiological factors and genetic predisposition have contributed to the risk factors for the disease. The blood pressure patients are evaluated as per the standardised blood pressure (BP) measurement, combining the risk factors for  cardiovascular diseases. The patients suffering from blood pressure are recommended to undergo  lifestyle changes, which include dietary modifications and exercise, that are found to be  effective in lowering the blood pressure and thus prevents hypertension and associated complications. The medications for blood pressure are effective in lowering BP and increasing the life expectancy in most patients. The drugs which are first line  medications are angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers.

Hypotension

Hypotension is the term referred to when there is a decrease in systemic blood pressure which is lower than the  standard accepted values of blood pressure. As per the experts in this field there is no standard reference value set to define the hypotensive value. If the blood pressure is less than 90/60 then it is widely termed as hypotensive. Hypotension condition is rarely detected as the symptoms go unnoticed and are not recognised so  it is typically referred as asymptomatic. Low blood pressure is of concern only when the pumping pressure is unable to pump  the organs with oxygenated blood. This causes numerous symptoms such as  tiredness which impacts the quality of life of a hypotensive patient. Hypotension is further categorised based on the number of biometric parameters and blood pressure measurement. It is observed that  if the systolic blood pressure value is less than 90 mm Hg or the mean arterial pressure is below  65 mm Hg then it is termed as low blood pressure. Orthostatic low blood pressure is another type of hypotension  observed when decrease in systolic pressure or 20 mm Hg or more or a decrease in diastolic pressure of value 10 mm Hg or more on positional change that is from lying to standing position. 

Blood Pressure in Indian population

As per a number of studies high blood pressure (BP) is considered to be the third most important risk factor for disease burden  in south Asia. Hypertension is known to be a substantial public health burden on  healthcare systems in India. It is one of the causative factors for 57% of stroke related deaths and 24% of coronary heart disease related deaths in India. As per World Health Organization, hypertension is one of the most important reasons for premature death across the world. 

Conclusion

Abnormal blood pressure is the most important factor that causes morbidity and mortality due to heart and heart related ailments. There are no set guidelines for the values of blood pressure but the most widely accepted values of 140/90mmHg is referred. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the blood pressure to diagnose the abnormalities and seek medical intervention.