Normal blood pressure chart by age and gender

Blood pressure is the force your blood exerts against the walls of arteries as your heart beats. Blood pressure readings have two numbers, such as 122/79 mm Hg. The descriptor at the end stands for “millimeters of mercury,” which blood pressure gauges used to contain.

Table of Contents Show

What is Normal Blood Pressure by Age?
Taking Your Blood Pressure at Home
Get Help with Maintaining Healthy, Normal Blood Pressure
What is normal blood pressure according to age?
What is normal BP for a 70 year old?
What blood pressure is too high by age?

The top number (called the systolic pressure) is the force each time your heart beats. The bottom number (diastolic pressure) is the force between beats.

Maintaining healthy blood pressure is important, as readings outside the normal range can be problematic. Untreated high blood pressure, in particular, can damage the blood vessels, heart, kidneys, and brain.

What is Normal Blood Pressure by Age?

What’s considered “normal” blood pressure varies by age in children and teens.

SystolicDiastolicNewborns up to 1 month 60–90 mm Hg 20–60 mm HgInfants87–105 mm Hg53–66 mm HgToddlers95–105 mm Hg53–66 mm HgPreschoolers95–110 mm Hg56–70 mm HgSchool-aged children97–112 mm Hg 57–71 mm HgAdolescents112–128 mm Hg66–80 mm Hg

In adulthood, the average blood pressures by age and gender are:

WomenMen18-39 years110/68 mm Hg119/70 mm Hg 40-59 years122/74 mm Hg124/77 mm Hg60+ years139/68 mm Hg133/69 mm Hg

Beyond the averages in the blood pressure chart by age and gender above, adult blood pressure falls into one of five categories:

CategorySystolicDiastolicNormalLess than 120andLess than 80Elevated120–129andLess than 80High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Stage 1130–139or80 – 89High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Stage 2140 or higheror90 or higherHypertensive Crisis – Consult your doctor immediatelyHigher than 180and/orHigher than 120

Taking Your Blood Pressure at Home

You can take your blood pressure at home periodically to determine if it consistently falls within the acceptable blood pressure range by age and gender. This can be particularly helpful to people with what doctors call “white coat hypertension.” That’s elevated blood pressure due to the anxiety over being at the doctor’s office (where they traditionally wear white lab coats).

If you take home readings, be sure to:

Buy a blood pressure monitor designed to go around your upper arm. Readings from devices that attach to your finger or wrist may not be as accurate.
Get a monitor that inflates automatically and has a large readout that’s easy to see.
Be aware that some monitors can share data with an app on your phone for tracking your blood pressure trends.
Don’t consume beverages containing caffeine or alcohol in the 30 minutes before taking your reading.
Sit calmly in a chair with your back supported and legs uncrossed for five minutes before checking your blood pressure.
Have your arm supported and at approximately heart level.
Put the blood pressure cuff over bare skin.
Don’t talk or move as the cuff is working.
Take one reading, leave the cuff on and stay still, then take a second. If the readings are similar, average them. If not, take a third reading and average the three.
Record the average reading, along with the time of day.

Get Help with Maintaining Healthy, Normal Blood Pressure

If you have high blood pressure—or low blood pressure, which can also require treatment—your primary care doctor can help you control it. And if needed, they can refer you to the heart care specialists at Baptist Health.

Only one of your numbers needs to be higher than it should be to be diagnosed with high blood pressure, and only one needs to be lower than it should be to be diagnosed with low blood pressure.

So if your top number is over 140 or the bottom number is over 90, you may be diagnosed with high blood pressure, regardless of the other number. If your top number is under 90 or your bottom number is under 60, you may be diagnosed with low blood pressure. Use the chart to see where your numbers sit.

If your top number (systolic pressure) is consistently higher than 140mmHg, but the bottom number is healthy - this is known as Isolated Systolic Hypertension. If the bottom number (diastolic pressure) is consistently higher than 90mmHg but the top number is healthy - this is known as Isolated Diastolic Hypertension.

Making sure your readings aren’t a one-off

A single high reading doesn’t necessarily mean you have high blood pressure, as many things can affect your blood pressure throughout the day, such as the temperature, when you last ate, and if you’re feeling stressed.

Your doctor or nurse will probably want to measure your blood pressure a number of times over a few weeks to make sure the reading wasn’t just a one off and that your blood pressure stays high over time.

Read about how high blood pressure is diagnosed, getting a blood pressure check, the further tests you might have if you have a high blood pressure reading, and what it means if you’re diagnosed with high blood pressure.

What is normal blood pressure according to age?

According to the American College of Cardiology, the BP should be below 140/90 for people up to 80 years of age. On the other hand, the American Heart Association says that until about the age of 75, the BP should be under 140/90.

What is normal BP for a 70 year old?

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) updated their guidelines in 2017 to recommend men and women who are 65 or older aim for a blood pressure lower than 130/80 mm Hg.

What blood pressure is too high by age?

As a general guide: high blood pressure is considered to be from 140/90mmHg (or an average of 135/85mmHg at home) – or 150/90mmHg (or an average of 145/85mmHg at home) if you're over the age of 80.