To understand Systolic blood pressure better, let us first consider: What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure (also known as BP) is the force that the blood exerts against the walls of arteries while circulating in our body. This pressure varies from person to person depending upon factors such as:

- Age

- Sex

- Health

- Diet

- Environment

We often get to hear from people (usually middle and old-aged ones) that, “My BP is high.” Or in other cases, “My BP got low.” Now how do they come to know of this? Although most of them tend to infer it on their own based on certain signs and symptoms like pulsating headaches for a High Blood pressure, dizziness, feeling like the earth is moving beneath you, fainting and feeling cold all of a sudden for a Low Blood pressure, there are certain medical devices to calculate the values in order to get the true picture.

The most commonly used device, both by doctors and also at domestic level is known as “Sphygmomanometer” along with the combination of a Stethoscope. It’s very easy to use and almost anyone can learn to operate it. (I remember the first time I used it on my father when I was still 13 or 14… and that too correctly!) While measuring the blood pressure with a Sphygmomanometer, we got to note down “two” values.

The first value is taken when the blood pressure is at its highest while the heartbeats, pumps the blood and represents the maximum force exerted on the blood vessels. This is called the Systolic blood pressure. It is:

- Always measured on millimeters of mercury (mmHg).

- Always written before the other value (the lower value).

- Also known as the Top value.

Very significant in measuring High blood pressures as this value determines if a person has a high BP. (Usually values exceeding 120 are considered to show high BP’s)

The importance of the Systolic Pressure can be determined by considering the following example:

Let’s assume that the human heart is like a tree and the several branches coming out of that tree are the blood vessels. Now to ensure the uninterrupted flow (of blood) to all the branches and each and every cell in those branches, the tree (heart) needs to exert some force or pressure, which is done by the rhythmic beating. This process also helps in removing the cells’ waste product and giving them all the oxygen and nutrients they need.

Thus it is very important to keep taking several blood pressure readings and taking out an average to ensure the correct reading, along with keeping in mind factors like overall lifestyle including health, food habits, and family history as they have a very significant influence.