• Numbers that mean a person has high blood pressure
• Numbers that mean a person is at risk for high blood pressure (called prehypertension)
• Normal blood pressure numbers for adults

How high is too high?

Blood pressure levels*	Top number: systolic (the pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood)		Bottom number: diastolic (the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats)
High blood pressure, stage 2 (moderate to severe)	160 or higher	OR	100 or higher
High blood pressure, stage 1 (mild)	140 to 159	OR	90 to 99
At risk for high blood pressure	120 to 139	OR	80 to 89
Normal	Less than 120	AND	Less than 80

*Based upon guidelines from the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure

There are 2 stages of high blood pressure.

Stage 1 is mild high blood pressure. Stage 2 is moderate to severe high blood pressure. Talk with your doctor about your blood pressure numbers. Together you can decide what your target blood pressure should be—and the steps you can take.