Blood Pressure Range

Blood Pressure is extremely variable. What is normal blood pressure is not clear. Young adults in good health may have a systolic, or contracting phase, pressure of between 100 and 140 millimeters of mercury; older adults may have a systolic blood pressure of from 120 to 180. Diastolic, or resting phase, pressure is usually below 95 millimeters of mercury in a healthy individual of any age. Thus, a good average blood pressure for a college student might be 120/80.

Generally speaking, a continued diastolic blood pressure reading of over 95 is considered abnormal of people of any age. Elevated systolic blood pressure readings are usually of less concern, and in fact may increase with age as the blood vessels become less elastic. It is normal for a person's blood pressure reading to vary from time to time. They may decrease when the individual is resting and increase during excitement, anger, or strenous physical activity, when the heart pumps more vigorously.

The Coronary Arteries
The heart itself is a muscle, and like all other parts of the body it must have a blood supply to deliver oxygen and remove wastes. Surprisingly, very little of the thousand of gallons of blood circulating through the heart each day actually feeds the heart directly from within the heart chamber. Instead, the heart is nourished through the coronary arteries, two small blood vessel that arise from the aorta and encircle the heart, supplying blood to the heart muscle through numerous branches. Approximately one-eight of an inch in diameter (aboout the width of a drinking straw), these arteries are critical. If they become blocked, a portion of the heart's cells die. This is what happens when a person suffer a heart attack.