What is normal blood pressure by age and gender?
There is no such thing as normal blood pressure (BP). But there is a normal range for a man or woman at a certain age. So peoples’ optimal (target) blood pressure will change through life.
Why does high blood pressure matter? It can increase the risk of many health problems, including CKD, IHD and stroke.
These normal ranges are approximately true.
This is similar information in graphic form.
![Figure 13, [Changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure with age]. - The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure - NCBI Bookshelf](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9632/bin/importancef13.jpg)
As you can see from the chart, and graphs (from the USA), above – age and gender affect BP in the following ways:
- Blood pressure increases with age, and it’s normal for arteries to become stiffer as people get older
- Normal BP goes up with age and is generally higher in men. When women hit the menopause BP starts to align with men (as do its risks)
- Hence, for people over 75 years, the ideal blood pressure is usually considered to be under 150/90 mmHg – as more BP is needed to keep the brain supplied with blood
- The pulse pressure – i.e. difference between the systolic (upper number) and diastolic (lower number) – also rises through life. It can be 40 mmHg at 20 years, and 70 mmHg at 80 years
- A blood pressure reading of 180/120 mm Hg or higher is considered a hypertensive crisis and requires rapid medical attention (today).
OK OK MyHSN. But what is normal, high or low for most adults most of the time?
This is how we would answer that question.
| Blood pressure | Systolic (top number) mm Hg | Diastolic (bottom number) mm Hg |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Less than 90 | Less than 60 |
| Optimal | Less than 120 | Less than 80 |
| Normal | 120–129 | 80–84 |
| Normal to high | 130–139 | 85–89 |
| High | Greater than 140 | Greater than 90 |
Note 1. These numbers are ‘too neat’ to be true. But they are about right
Note 2. As BP also changes minute-to-minute in any individual person, and is affected by time of day (circadian rhythm), it is important not to react to one reading. It’s the pattern that matters.
Summary
We have described what is normal blood pressure by age and gender. We hope it has been helpful.
