General Medicine
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Blood pressure that stays above 140/90 damages the heart, brain and kidneys silently. What the numbers mean, and what actually brings them down.
19 Aug 202612 min read
Systolic
Pronounced sis-TOL-ik
Systolic is the top number in a blood pressure reading — the pressure in the arteries at the moment the heart contracts. It is the higher of the two figures.
In Cardiology
A blood pressure is written as two numbers, and systolic is the first. It is the peak pressure in the arteries as the left ventricle squeezes blood out; , the lower number, is the resting pressure between beats while the heart refills. A reading of 120/80 mmHg means a systolic of 120 and a diastolic of 80.
Systolic pressure tends to rise steadily with age as large arteries stiffen, and in older adults it is generally the better predictor of cardiovascular risk of the two. Isolated systolic hypertension — a high top number with a normal bottom number — is a real finding in later life rather than an artefact, and it is treated.
Where this comes up
Cardiology
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Related terms
- Blood pressureBP, Arterial pressureBlood pressure is the force of blood against the artery walls, written as two numbers in millimetres of mercury: the higher one is the pressure as the heart squeezes, the lower one the pressure as it refills. It varies through the day, so a diagnosis is never made on one reading.
- DiastolicDiastolic pressure, The lower numberDiastolic pressure is the lower of the two blood pressure numbers: the pressure remaining in the arteries while the heart relaxes and refills between beats. In a reading of 130 over 85, the diastolic pressure is 85.
- HypertensionHigh blood pressure, Blood pressure ka marzHypertension is blood pressure that stays high enough, over repeated proper measurements, to damage the arteries over time. It almost never causes symptoms, which is why it is found by measuring rather than by feeling unwell.
- StrokeCerebrovascular accident, CVAA stroke is a sudden loss of blood supply to part of the brain, either from a blocked artery or a bleed. It is an emergency — treatment works only within a few hours of the first symptom.
- ScreeningScreening testScreening is testing people who feel well, to find a condition earlier than symptoms would. It is only worth doing when finding the condition early genuinely changes what happens next.