When last have you had your Blood Pressure checked?

What is Blood Pressure?          

Most people either don't know what blood pressure (BP) is or don't know how it works. It is our duty as a patient to ask the Doctor to explain to us what BP is and how it works eg What is "normal", "low" or "high"

Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. Blood pressure is recorded as two numbers—the systolic pressure (as the heart beats) over the diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes between beats). The measurement is written one above or before the other, with the systolic number on top and the diastolic number on the bottom. For example, a blood pressure measurement of 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) is expressed verbally as "120 over 80."
Normal blood pressure is less than 120 mmHg systolic and less than 80

Category                        Systolic (Top number)           Diastolic (Bottom number) 
Normal                              Less than 120                          Less than 80
Prehypertension                 120-139                                  80-89

High Blood Pressure       Systolic                                 Diastolic
Stage 1                              140-159                                90-99
Stage2                               160 or higher                         100 or higher