As you have noted, blood pressure is recorded as two
numbers. The first number (known as systolic), is a measure of the pressure in
the arteries when the heart muscle contracts when beating. The second number
(known as diastolic), is the pressure in the arteries when the heart muscle is
between beats and refilling with blood. Optimal blood pressure is less than
120/80.
The pulse rate is a measure of how many times per minute our
arteries expand and contract in response to the heart beating. The normal ‘resting’
heart rate for adults is between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
