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systolic and diastolic blood pressure

systolic blood pressure refers to the pressure of blood in the artery when the heart contracts. it is the top (and higher) number in a blood pressure reading.

diastolic blood pressure refers to the pressure of blood in the artery when the heart relaxes between beats. it is the bottom (and lower) number in a blood pressure reading.

for example, if a person's systolic pressure is 120 millimetres of mercury (mm hg) and the diastolic pressure is 80 mm hg, blood pressure is recorded as 120/80 and read as "120 over 80."

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