Wan Bao - Blood pressure refers to the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs.

Blood pressure is determined via two readings –systolic and diastolic pressure. The systolic arterial pressure is defined as the peak pressure in the arteries, which occurs near the beginning of the cardiac cycle; the diastolic arterial pressure is the lowest pressure (at the resting phase of the cardiac cycle). The pulse pressure reflects the difference between the maximum and minimum pressures measured. A normal pulse pressure is around 40mmHg.

A person's blood pressure fluctuates with diet, mood etc. Broadly, one’s 24-hour blood pressure can be categorized into 9 different patterns, namely:

• Normal BP Pattern
• White Coat Hypertension
• Nocturnal Hypertension
• Borderline Hypertension
• Isolated Systolic Hypertension
• Isolated Diastolic Hypertension
• Systolic & Diastolic Hypertension Without Night-time Dip
• Systolic & Diastolic Hypertension With Night-time Dip
• White Coat Normotension or Masked Hypertension