Table 46.1—Classification of Blood-Pressure Levels

Category

Systolic (mm Hg)

 

Diastolic (mm Hg)

Normal

< 120

and

< 80

Prehypertension

120–139

or

80–89

Hypertension

 

 

 

Stage 1

140–159

or

90–99

Stage 2

160

or

100

NOTE: Diagnoses should be based on the average of two or more readings taken at each of two or more visits after an initial screening.

SOURCE: Data from JNC 7 Express: the seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Bethesda, MD: National High Blood Pressure Education Program, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services; May 2003:3 (Table 1).