ReliOn HEM-412CREL - Manual (Page 7)

7
A FEW WORDS ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE
Blood pressure is the force on the walls
of your blood vessels as blood flows
through them.
Your heart is like a pump. When
it contracts, or beats, it sends a surge
of blood through the blood vessels
and pressure increases. This is called
your systolic pressure.
When your heart relaxes between
beats, your blood pressure decreases.
This is called your diastolic pressure.
When a doctor takes your blood
pressure, he or she measures
both your systolic and diastolic
pressures and records them as
numbers. For example, if your blood
pressure reading is 120/76 (120 over
76), your systolic is 120 and your
diastolic is 76. The numbers are
expressed in millimeters of mercury
120/76 mmHg.
Heart Contracts
(Pressure Increases)
Heart Relaxes
(Pressure Decreases)
Systolic
(Upper Number)
Diastolic
(Lower Number)
HEM-412CREL-IM-3619 3/11/03 11:22 AM Page 7