Feeling The Tension

How to accurately measure your blood pressure.

- Samantha Rideout

BLOOD-PRESSURE readings may seem arcane at first glance, but you don’t need medical training to make sense of them. Simply put, the first number, known as the systolic pressure, represents how much force is on your veins when your heart pumps. The second number, the diastolic pressure, shows how much force remains in between heartbeats.

As these numbers rise, so does your risk of cardiovascular events. The Public Health Agency of Canada considers values of less than 120/80 in adults to be “optimal” and 120 to 129/80 to 84 to be “normal.” (There’s no lower healthy limit so long as you feel well, but see a doctor if you’re chronically dizzy or light-headed.)