€79Specialist Cardiology
Talk any result through with a registered doctor by video, and get the checks that BMI cannot give you.
15 min
Free health tool
Blood pressure chart Spain
Enter the two numbers from your monitor to see where the reading sits on the European adult chart — and what, if anything, to do about it.
- European (ESC/ESH) adult categories
- Flags readings that need same-day care
- Runs in your browser — nothing is sent or stored
Your reading
mmHg
mmHg
120/80mmHg
Normal
Within the normal adult range. Worth re-checking now and again, especially if it has been drifting upwards.
Where your systolic number sits
90120140160180
- Optimal for most adults
- Below 120/80 mmHg
This chart is a screening reference, not a diagnosis. Hypertension is diagnosed from repeated readings, usually a week of home measurements or a 24-hour monitor, never from a single figure.
01
The adult blood pressure chart
Blood pressure is written as two numbers: the systolic pressure while the heart contracts, over the diastolic pressure while it relaxes between beats. Both are measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
The categories below are the European ones (ESC/ESH). Where the two numbers fall into different categories, the higher category is the one that counts — 128/95 is grade 1 hypertension, not normal.
Low
- Systolic (mmHg)
- Under 90
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- or under 60
Optimal
- Systolic (mmHg)
- Under 120
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- and under 80
Normal
- Systolic (mmHg)
- 120 – 129
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- and/or 80 – 84
High-normal
- Systolic (mmHg)
- 130 – 139
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- and/or 85 – 89
Grade 1 hypertension
- Systolic (mmHg)
- 140 – 159
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- and/or 90 – 99
Grade 2 hypertension
- Systolic (mmHg)
- 160 – 179
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- and/or 100 – 109
Grade 3 hypertension
- Systolic (mmHg)
- 180 or more
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- and/or 110 or more
Isolated systolic
- Systolic (mmHg)
- 140 or more
- Diastolic (mmHg)
- and under 90
02
How to take a reading worth trusting
Most alarming readings are measurement artefacts. Blood pressure moves through the day and jumps with a rushed arrival, a full bladder or a conversation mid-cuff, so how you measure changes the number more than people expect.
- Sit still for five minutes first — back supported, feet flat on the floor, legs uncrossed.
- No coffee, food, exercise or cigarettes for 30 minutes beforehand, and empty your bladder.
- Rest your arm on a table so the cuff sits level with your heart, against bare skin.
- Use a cuff that fits your arm. Too small a cuff reads high, and it is the commonest home-monitor error.
- Stay quiet while it inflates. Talking adds several mmHg.
- Take two readings a minute apart and use the second, or the average of the two.
- Measure morning and evening for seven days, then bring the whole set to a doctor.
03
What a single reading cannot tell you
A reading is a snapshot of one moment in one arm. That is enough to flag a problem and not enough to name one, which is why a diagnosis rests on repeated readings rather than on the first alarming figure.
- White-coat hypertension: raised in a clinic, normal at home. Common, and only home or 24-hour monitoring separates it out.
- Masked hypertension: normal in the clinic, raised the rest of the time. The riskier of the two, and invisible without home readings.
- Arms differ. A gap of more than 10 mmHg between them matters, and the higher arm is the one to use from then on.
- An irregular pulse, atrial fibrillation included, makes most automatic monitors unreliable.
- Not every home device is clinically validated, and an unvalidated one can be out by a wide margin.
- Pregnancy has its own thresholds and its own risks. Raised blood pressure in pregnancy needs maternity review, not this chart.
04
When to see a doctor, and when to get help now
Most raised readings are dealt with in an ordinary appointment. A few are not.
- Call the emergency services now if a very high reading comes with chest pain, weakness or numbness on one side of the body, difficulty speaking, or a sudden change in your vision. Those are signs of a heart attack or a stroke.
- Get same-day medical care for a reading of 180/120 or above, even with no symptoms at all.
- Arrange a review within a few weeks for readings repeatedly at or above 140/90.
- Talk to a doctor if readings are repeatedly below 90/60 and you feel dizzy, faint or unusually tired.
- Bring your home readings, and the device itself, to the appointment. The pattern is what gets treated, not the worst number.
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Blood pressure chart — FAQs
What is a normal blood pressure for an adult?
Under 120/80 mmHg is optimal, and 120–129 over 80–84 is still classed as normal. From 130/85 a reading is high-normal, and 140/90 or above measured in a clinic is hypertension. Home monitors read lower, so the home threshold is 135/85.
Which number matters more, the top or the bottom?
Both. The category is set by whichever number is worse, so 128/95 counts as grade 1 hypertension on the strength of the bottom number alone. Systolic pressure predicts cardiovascular risk better after about 50, diastolic before it.
What does an isolated systolic reading mean?
A systolic of 140 or more with a diastolic under 90. It is the commonest pattern of high blood pressure after 60, caused by arteries stiffening with age, and it carries real cardiovascular risk — it is not a harmless quirk of the top number.
Can one high reading mean I have hypertension?
No. Hypertension is diagnosed from repeated raised readings, usually backed by a week of home measurements or a 24-hour monitor. A single high reading is a reason to measure again properly, not a diagnosis.
What blood pressure is dangerous?
A reading of 180/120 or above needs medical attention the same day. If it comes with chest pain, weakness or numbness on one side, difficulty speaking or a sudden change in vision, call the emergency services immediately — those are symptoms of a heart attack or a stroke.
Does this blood pressure chart store my reading?
No. The comparison runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to our servers or saved.
What counts as high blood pressure in Spain?
Spanish practice follows the European thresholds: 140/90 mmHg or above in a clinic, or 135/85 or above on a validated home monitor. A single raised reading is not a diagnosis — a doctor will normally ask for a week of home readings, or 24-hour monitoring, first.
Where can I get my blood pressure checked in Spain?
Any medical appointment includes it, and most pharmacies will measure it too. Bring a week of home readings to a consultation and our registered doctors can review the whole set by video, alongside your cholesterol and blood glucose.
Want a doctor to look at your readings?
Book a video consultation with a registered doctor, bring a week of home readings, and get a plan built on the pattern rather than on one number.