When you visit a doctor's clinic or become admitted to the hospital, one of the first things done to you is to check your blood pressure measurements. Although many people disregard this process, doctors and nurses use the blood pressure readings as an indicator of overall health. Whenever your doctor reports your blood pressure, you should be able to understand what these two values mean. Most of the time, people just let the doctors check the blood pressure without trying to understand how the results determine your current condition. Here are some things you need to know about your blood pressure level:

Blood pressure and heart rate is not the same thing. Although these two are related in different ways, they cannot be used interchangeable. The blood pressure refers to the force placed on the walls of the arteries in your body at any given time, while your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats within an hour.

Reading systolic and diastolic pressure - Each blood pressure measurement is made up of two values - the systolic blood pressure (the force placed on the arteries during an actual heartbeat) and diastolic pressure (the force placed on the arteries between heartbeats).
A blood pressure is written down with the systolic value above the diastolic value, much like a fraction. As such, if your doctor tells you that your blood pressure is 120 over 80, it would be written in your record as 120/80 mmHg.
Doctors use blood pressure ranges to determine which patients are experiencing low, normal or high blood pressure.
Pre-hypertension is the range wherein your systolic range is around 120 to 139 and your diastolic value is at 80 to 89.
Hypertension ranges consist of any blood pressure reading above 140/90 mmHg.

The normal blood pressure range is about 120/80. This value is also considered your resting blood pressure and it may increase or decrease depending on the activities you are performing or has performed throughout the day. Generally, you need to manage your blood pressure and have it in the normal ranges as much as possible. Both low blood pressure and high blood pressure can be fatal, so ensuring your blood pressure levels are normal can help you lead a longer and healthier life.