Each time your heart beats, it pushes blood through your arteries. This creates a pressure which keeps the blood flow moving to all parts of the body. You have two blood pressure numbers. Systolic pressure is the first and largest number. It s the amount of force on the artery walls when the heart beats.
Diastolic pressure is the second, smaller number.
It s the amount of force when the heart is at rest. When someone takes your blood pressure, both numbers are measured. The harder it is for blood to flow through your blood vessels, the higher both numbers may be, indicating a greater strain on your heart. Blood pressure falls within a range. Individuals whose blood pressure is consistently higher than normal have high blood pressure.