# Blood Pressure **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021 "2003-03-04T16:41:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021/1 "2003-03-04T16:41:18Z")
How low is too low when it comes to blood pressure? I saw my doc last week for a physical, and I came out at 100/52, which he admitted is on the low side, but nothing to worry about. So who’s got some expertise in this matter. And what the heck do systolic and diastolic really mean anyway (aside from being the high and low points of a pump)? Are doctors looking at a range, the overall numbers, or what exactly? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021/2 "2003-03-04T17:17:43Z")
See if this site has any information that helps: > **[American Heart Association](https://www.heart.org?identifier=2112)** > > Learn more about the American Heart Association's efforts to reduce death caused by heart disease and stroke. Also learn about cardiovascular conditions, ECC and CPR, donating, heart disease information for healthcare professionals, caregivers, and... ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021/3 "2003-03-04T18:27:48Z")
The only time a low blood pressure is bad is if you’re not adequately perfusing all of your tissues (like in shock). Different people have different blood pressures, so if 100/52 is your normal pressure, then there’s nothing to worry about. Generally, a systolic pressure of \>90 will give you a radial pulse, a systolic of \>70 will give you a femoral pulse, and \>60 is required to give you a carotid pulse. I hope this helps. St. Urho EMT-B ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021/4 "2003-03-05T13:34:03Z")
Well, **Knead** , that site only discusses high blood pressure (which seems typical of most searches I performed, hence the query here). What’s the average person’s blood pressure? An athlete’s? ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021/5 "2003-03-05T14:06:52Z")
Try googling for “hypotension”. [Here’s](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003083.htm) the Medline entry. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021/6 "2003-03-05T15:23:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Barbarian \* > \*\*Well, **Knead** , that site only discusses high blood pressure (which seems typical of most searches I performed, hence the query here). > > What’s the average person’s blood pressure? An athlete’s? \*\* Sorry, I thought it addressed at least one of the questions you asked: > [@](#): > > what the heck do systolic and diastolic really mean anyway (aside from being the high and low points of a pump)? because that page says > [@](#): > > Blood pressure is the force in the arteries when the heart beats (systolic pressure) and when the heart is at rest (diastolic pressure). I must have mis-read. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Theom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@Theom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theom)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-pressure/159021/7 "2003-03-05T15:29:33Z")
For a healthy adult blood pressure should idealy be 120/80. When my Da had high blood pressure he was told to pay attention to the bottom number which was “good” when anywhere between 70 and 90. Over 90 was “frown” area and anything over 100 not good. Apart from that all I know is if the bottom number is over 120, lie down and call an ambulance because you’re about to have a stroke.