What Is Diastolic Blood Pressure
We ll tell you why.
What is diastolic blood pressure. A normal diastolic blood pressure is lower than 80. After the heart is finished contracting the cardiac ventricles relax momentarily so that they can be refilled with blood in preparation for the next contraction. The diastolic blood pressure is the pressure the blood exerts within the arteries in between heartbeats that is when the heart is not actively ejecting blood into the arteries. The diastolic reading or the bottom number is the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats.
But even if your diastolic number is lower than 80 you can have elevated blood pressure if the systolic reading is 120 129. This is the time when the heart fills with blood and gets oxygen. It measures the force of blood against your artery walls as your heart relaxes and the ventricles are allowed to refill with blood. This is the lower number which shows the pressure that the blood applies to the artery walls when the heart rests between beats.