What does blood pressure measure?

Blood pressure measures the pressure exerted by blood on the walls of blood vessels. This is an essential physiological parameter as it reflects the force with which the heart pumps blood throughout the circulatory system and the resistance of the blood vessels to that flow. Maintaining healthy blood pressure is crucial for ensuring proper blood flow to organs and tissues, which is vital for overall health.

The measurement is typically expressed as two numbers: systolic pressure (the pressure when the heart beats) over diastolic pressure (the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats). Understanding blood pressure allows health professionals to assess cardiovascular health and identify potential health issues, such as hypertension or cardiovascular diseases.

While oxygen exchange in the lungs, blood volume circulated by the heart, and the amount of blood pumped in an hour are important aspects of cardiovascular health, they do not directly represent what blood pressure specifically measures.