What Is a Normal Blood Pressure Range?
Last updated: September 2026
Blood pressure checker
Enter a reading to see its category under the US ACC/AHA guideline (the 2017 categories, kept unchanged by the 2025 update) — the default guideline in the Blood Pressure Journal app.
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Wait a few minutes and measure again. If it is still above 180/120, or you have symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath or vision changes, seek medical care immediately.
European guidelines (ESC, and the UK's NICE, which the NHS follows) define hypertension from 140/90 — the sections below explain the difference.
For information only, not a diagnosis. Categories assume a reading taken correctly at rest, and a single reading is never enough — your average over days matters far more.
For adults, normal blood pressure is a reading below 120/80 mmHg — a systolic pressure under 120 and a diastolic pressure under 80. Readings consistently at or above 130/80 fall into hypertension under US guidelines, while very low readings (below about 90/60) count as hypotension.
That's the short answer. The longer answer is that blood pressure is a moving target: it changes through the day and reacts to stress, sleep, caffeine, and even a full bladder. Understanding the range — and measuring properly — matters more than any single number.
What the two numbers mean
Systolic pressure (the top number) is the force in your arteries at the moment your heart contracts and pushes blood out. Diastolic pressure (the bottom number) is the force between beats, while the heart refills. Both are measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
A reading of 118/76 means your arteries see a peak pressure of 118 mmHg with each beat and stay at 76 mmHg between beats. Your pulse — how many times the heart beats per minute — is a separate measurement, even though most monitors show all three together.
The normal range at a glance
| Reading (mmHg) | What it means |
|---|---|
| Below 90/60 | Low — often harmless if you feel well; see a doctor if you get symptoms |
| Below 120/80 | Normal — the healthy target range for adults |
| 120–129 / below 80 | Elevated — not hypertension yet, but trending the wrong way |
| 130/80 or higher | Hypertension — confirm with repeated home readings and talk to your doctor |
| Above 180/120 | Crisis — re-measure; if still this high or you have symptoms, seek emergency care |
Note the boundary difference between guidelines: US guidelines define hypertension from 130/80 mmHg, while European guidelines — including NICE, whose guidance the NHS follows in the UK — draw the line at 140/90 mmHg. The full breakdown, including averages by age group, is in our blood pressure chart by age, and our country guides explain the UK (NHS and NICE) and US (ACC/AHA) rules in detail.
Why your reading is different every time
Healthy blood pressure isn't a fixed value — variation is normal. Common reasons your numbers move:
- Time of day. Blood pressure typically dips overnight, surges in the early morning, and drifts down through the evening.
- Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Each can raise readings for 30 minutes or more — avoid them before measuring.
- Stress and the setting. Many people read 10–20 mmHg higher in a clinic than at home, a pattern called white coat hypertension.
- Body position and technique. An unsupported back, crossed legs, a dangling arm, or talking during the measurement can each add several mmHg. Our measurement guide covers the correct setup.
- Recent meals, exercise, and a full bladder all nudge readings too.
Because of this variability, clinicians care about your average over days or weeks — one high reading after a stressful commute doesn't define you.
When to talk to a doctor
See your doctor if home readings average 130/80 mmHg or higher over a week, if your readings are rising steadily over months, or if low readings come with dizziness or fainting. Go sooner if you're pregnant, diabetic, or have kidney or heart disease — target ranges can be tighter.
Bring data, not anecdotes: a week of structured home readings is one of the most useful things you can hand a clinician. A blood pressure log — on paper or in an app — turns "my pressure feels high lately" into something a doctor can act on.
Normal blood pressure by age and sex
There is no separate chart for women, for men, or for people over 60. The ACC/AHA categories above — normal below 120/80 mmHg, elevated 120–129, hypertension from 130/80 — apply to every adult, at 25 and at 85. What changes with age and sex is not the target but what is typical: arteries stiffen over the decades, so average systolic pressure climbs.
The figures below are population averages, not goals. Read them to understand where you sit relative to your peers, never as permission to accept a high number because it is common.
| Age | Typical average, women | Typical average, men | What is going on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–39 | ≈ 108–116 / 66–74 | ≈ 114–122 / 70–78 | Women usually read 5–10 mmHg below men of the same age before menopause |
| 40–59 | ≈ 118–128 / 73–81 | ≈ 122–131 / 76–83 | Systolic pressure begins its slow climb in both sexes; the gap narrows |
| 60+ | ≈ 130–140 / 68–78 | ≈ 130–139 / 70–80 | Systolic keeps rising while diastolic falls; past about 65, women are more likely than men to have hypertension |
Two things follow from this table. First, the average adult over 70 sits at or above the hypertension threshold — common is not the same as healthy, and treating high blood pressure at 75 still clearly reduces strokes and heart attacks. Second, your own baseline matters as much as the population's: a woman whose readings sat at 100/65 for twenty years should treat a drift into the high 120s as a real change, even though 128/78 is unremarkable on paper. Decade-by-decade figures are in our blood pressure chart by age, and blood pressure in older adults covers why targets past 75 are set individually.
Pregnancy is the one genuine exception to "the categories apply to everyone": readings of 140/90 mmHg or higher during pregnancy need prompt medical review, whatever your numbers were before.
Is 118/76 normal? Common readings decoded
Most people arrive here with one specific pair of numbers in mind. Here are the readings people look up most, with the ACC/AHA category each falls into. Remember the rule that catches everyone out: a reading takes the higher of the two categories, so the diastolic number alone can move you up.
| Reading | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 105/65 | Normal | Comfortably healthy. Low only below 90/60, and only if you feel it. |
| 110/70 | Normal | A textbook adult reading — nothing to do. |
| 115/75 | Normal | Still well inside range, with room before the boundary. |
| 118/76 | Normal | Normal, near the top of it. Worth tracking your average, not worrying. |
| 120/80 | Stage 1 (on the line) | Systolic 120 is elevated, and a diastolic of exactly 80 meets the stage 1 line, so strictly this is stage 1. Not alarming on one reading — but the direction to watch. |
| 125/82 | Stage 1 | The systolic looks fine; the diastolic is what puts it here. |
| 128/78 | Elevated | Not hypertension, but one step from it. A good moment for lifestyle changes. |
| 130/85 | Stage 1 | Hypertension under US guidelines; below the European 140/90 line. |
| 135/88 | Stage 1 | As a home average, roughly equivalent to a clinic 140/90. |
| 140/90 | Stage 2 | Hypertension under every major guideline, US and European alike. |
| 150/95 | Stage 2 | Book an appointment; bring a week of readings rather than this one. |
| 160/100 | Stage 2 | Clearly high. Medication is usually part of the conversation at this level. |
None of these categories is a diagnosis. A single reading taken after a stressful phone call tells you about that moment; a week of readings taken with correct technique tells you about you.
Normal blood pressure at home vs at the clinic
The same person will usually read higher in a clinic than at their kitchen table, so the thresholds are deliberately different. A home average of 135/85 mmHg corresponds to a clinic reading of about 140/90 — the home figure is roughly 5 mmHg lower on both numbers.
| Setting | Normal | Hypertension threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Clinic (US, ACC/AHA) | Below 120/80 | 130/80 and above |
| Clinic (Europe, ESC and NICE) | Below 120/80 | 140/90 and above |
| Home average (Europe, ESC and NICE) | Below 120/80 | 135/85 and above |
That gap is why a clinic number on its own can mislead in both directions. If your readings are consistently higher at the surgery than at home, you may have white coat hypertension; if the reverse is true — fine at the doctor, high at home — that is masked hypertension, which carries real risk and is only ever found by measuring at home.
Practically: measure twice a day for seven days, discard day one, and average the rest. Logging each reading as you take it — on paper or in Blood Pressure Journal, which reads the numbers off your monitor's display and computes the average for you — means the figure you hand your doctor is the one that actually decides anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is 120/80 a normal blood pressure?
It's right on the boundary. Under US guidelines, normal is *below* 120/80 — a systolic of exactly 120 counts as "elevated." In practice, 120/80 is nothing to worry about on its own; it's simply worth keeping an eye on your average.
Is 110/70 too low?
No — 110/70 is a healthy reading well inside the normal range. Readings only count as low below about 90/60 mmHg, and even then they usually matter only if you have symptoms like dizziness or fainting.
Can my blood pressure be normal at the doctor but high at home?
Yes — that pattern is called masked hypertension, the mirror image of white coat hypertension, and it's one of the strongest arguments for home monitoring. See our guide to white coat hypertension for how the two are confirmed.
What is a normal pulse rate?
A normal resting heart rate for adults is roughly 60–100 beats per minute; fit people often sit lower. Pulse and blood pressure are independent measurements — here's how they relate.
What is a normal blood pressure for a woman?
The same as for a man: below 120/80 mmHg, with hypertension from 130/80 under US guidelines. There is no separate women's chart. What differs is the typical path — before menopause women average roughly 5–10 mmHg below men of the same age, then rise faster afterwards, so past about 65 women are more likely than men to have high blood pressure. In pregnancy, 140/90 or higher needs prompt medical review whatever your usual numbers are.
What is a normal blood pressure for a 60-year-old?
Below 120/80 mmHg — the target does not change with age. What changes is what is common: 60-somethings average roughly 130–140 over 68–80 mmHg, which means the *typical* 60-year-old already sits in the hypertension range. Common is not the same as healthy. Past about 75, treatment targets are individualized with your doctor — see blood pressure in older adults.
Is 118/76 a good blood pressure?
Yes. 118/76 mmHg is normal under every major guideline — both numbers are below the 120/80 line. It sits near the top of the normal band rather than in the middle, so it is worth knowing your average over a week rather than judging from this one reading, but there is nothing here to act on.
Sources
- 2024 ESC Guidelines for the Management of Elevated Blood Pressure and Hypertension
- Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136)
- High blood pressure (hypertension) (NHS)
- 2025 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults
