147/95 blood pressure is a ‘Hypertension Stage 1’ blood pressure reading by EU, UK, Japan and International Society of Hypertension (ISH) standards and classed as ‘Hypertension Stage 2’ by US standards.
What 147 over 95 blood pressure means:
A BP reading of 147/95 means it is classed as either Hypertension Stage 1 or Stage 2, depending on which country’s scale you look at and who took the measurement; a systolic pressure (when the heart contracts on a beat) reading of 147 mmHg and a resting, diastolic pressure (when the heart is dilated or relaxing between beats) reading of 95 mmHg. Blood pressure readings are presented in units of mmHg, which stands for millimetres of mercury, (read why here).You may find it written as blood pressure 147 over 95, or more simply BP 147/95
| Reads | Systolic | Diastolic |
|---|---|---|
| 147-over-95 | 147 | 95 |
Looking at your systolic and diastolic numbers independently, means they would each fall into the following categories:
- A systolic reading of 147 is generally considered to be at the ‘hypertension stage 1’ level.
- A diastolic reading of 95 is generally considered to be at the ‘hypertension stage 1’ level.
Both your systolic and diastolic readings play an important role when assessing your health. Typically, the reading that falls into a less favourable range dictates your overall blood pressure’s categorisation. In your case your overall blood pressure would be considered at the hypertension stage 1 level, beyond a normal healthy reading, as your systolic reading is the same health status level when comparing it to your diastolic reading.
You can see your blood pressure readings of 147 over 95 plotted on the chart above, noting that your overall classification for this BP reading falls into the hypertension stage 1 blood pressure range.
Minor variations exist in the naming conventions and specific boundaries of each category between different nations. We show what these differences are in the tables presented later in this article so you know where you stand on the EU, US, UK, Japan and International Society of Hypertension (ISH) scales and plot you on the United States’ blood pressure chart too. It is important to consider that a single blood pressure reading is not definitive and it can be affected by several factors. If you regularly take your blood pressure readings at home with one of the modern, home blood pressure monitors (also called sphygmomanometers or blood pressure gauges), you will have a more accurate average reading to work from. This is because you will be taking more readings over various times of the day than what you would gather from a single visit to a clinic. You can then use this information to see if your blood pressure is ok, or if you need to make some healthy changes to your lifestyle or seek further advice on hypertension medication to work towards having lower blood pressure.
The column chart of your blood pressure shown above, displays the status of your systolic reading (higher blood pressure number) of 147mmHg compared to your diastolic reading (lower blood pressure number) of 95mmHg. Using these two blood pressure figures, you can go on to work out your blood pulse pressure.
What Is Blood Pulse Pressure?
Blood pulse pressure is the difference in value between your systolic and diastolic readings. Your pulse pressure is therefore 52mmHg, calculated by subtracting your diastolic reading of 95mmHg from the systolic reading of 147mmHg.
A normal pulse pressure is typically considered to be around 40mmHg. Your pulse pressure will vary naturally with different blood pressure readings but the variation will typically be in the 5 to 10 mmHg range. As always, it is best to take several readings to determine a true representative average.
A pulse pressure which is less than 25% of your systolic pressure is considered concerningly low and over 100%, would be considered wide. Your pulse pressure of 52mmHg as a percentage of your systolic reading of 147mmHg comes in at 35%.
Narrow pulse pressure generally shows that the heart is not pumping a satisfactory amount of blood through it with each beat. This is often seen in people who have might have issues such as heart valve disease or heart failure. It can also result where people have lost a lot of blood from an injury or have internal bleeding.Wide pulse pressure on the other hand, which can also be referred to as high pulse pressure, can occur during exercise and is regularly seen in endurance athletes and high muscle-mass individuals without much concern. However, for less active and aging individuals that may be experiencing hardening of the arteries, a wide pulse pressure develops for different reasons and that can be a warning sign of increased risk of stroke, heart rhythm problems and heart disease.
If you are concerned about your pulse pressure, ask your healthcare professional for advice.
Different Countries May Interpret 147/95 Differently
Your 147/95 reading is seen as Hypertension Stage 1 in many countries, although the specific boundaries for each category and the naming of them can vary slightly between nations.
Revisions to these scales also occur, notably in 2017, leading U.S. health groups, including the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, set lower levels for what counts as the start of high blood pressure and removed the term prehypertension from their scale. Yet when the EU later reviewed their scale in 2018, they maintained a higher boundary for the start of hypertension. So, large segments of the US population defined as having high blood pressure would not be considered to be suffering from hypertension by the EU.
You can check several country specific and international associations’ hypertension tables further down this page.
What About the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) Hypertension Chart, Where Is My Blood Pressure On That?
The ACC/AHA hypertension scale was most recently revised in 2017 and the major change at that time was lowering the definition of the start of hypertension from ≥140/≥90 mmHg to ≥130/≥80 mmHg. It also re-classified “prehypertension” as “elevated” blood pressure (120-129/<80 mmHg).
Your blood pressure readings on the ACC/AHA scale are shown below:
On the chart above you can see your blood pressure reading, this time plotted on the ACC/AHA hypertension scale giving an overall status of hypertension stage 2.
The column chart above again compares your systolic (higher) reading of 147 to the diastolic (lower) reading of 95 and the status they have if considered individually but this time on the ACC/AHA scale definition giving a systolic status of hypertension stage 2 and a diastolic status of hypertension stage 2.
Categorisations of Blood Pressure by Region/Country
Here we present the latest revised blood pressure tables and naming terms used by the EU, US, Japan, UK and International Society of Hypertension (ISH). Some differentiate office vs home readings, office not meaning your workplace but the office of the medical staff. The reason this differentiation is made is because medical environments can be stressful and raise the readings compared to what is achieved when relaxing at home and taking your own measurements.
European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Classifications
| Category | Systolic (mmHg) | Diastolic (mmHg) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimal (Ideal) | <120 | and | <80 |
| Normal | 120–129 | and/or | 80–84 |
| High normal | 130–139 | and/or | 85–89 |
| Grade 1 hypertension | 140–159 | and/or | 90–99 |
| Grade 2 hypertension | 160–179 | and/or | 100–109 |
| Grade 3 hypertension | ≥180 | and/or | ≥110 |
| Isolated systolic hypertension | ≥140 | and | <90 |
| Isolated diastolic hypertension | <140 | and | ≥90 |
American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) Classifications
| Category | Systolic (mmHg) | Diastolic (mmHg) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | <120 | and | <80 |
| Elevated | 120-129 | and | <80 |
| Stage 1 | 130-139 | or | 80-89 |
| Stage 2 | ≥140 | or | ≥90 |
| Hypertensive crisis | >180 | and/or | >120 |
Japanese Society of Hypertension (JSH) Classifications
| Classification | Office blood pressure (mmHg) | Home blood pressure (mmHg) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBP | DBP | SBP | DBP | |
| Normal blood pressure | <120 | and <80 | <115 | and <75 |
| High normal blood pressure | 120–129 | and <80 | 115–124 | and <75 |
| Elevated blood pressure | 130–139 | and/or 80–89 | 125–134 | and/or 75–84 |
| Grade I hypertension | 140–159 | and/or 90–99 | 135–144 | and/or 85–89 |
| Grade II hypertension | 160–179 | and/or 100–109 | 145–159 | and/or 90–99 |
| Grade III hypertension | ≥180 | and/or ≥110 | ≥160 | and/or ≥100 |
| (Isolated) systolic hypertension | ≥140 | and <90 | ≥135 | and <85 |
UK National Health Service (NHS)/British Heart Foundation(BHF) Classifications
| Classification | Office blood pressure (mmHg) | Home blood pressure (mmHg) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBP | DBP | SBP | DBP | |
| Low blood pressure | <90 | <60 | <90 | <60 |
| Normal blood pressure (Under 80s) | 90–120 | 60–80 | 90–120 | 60–80 |
| Normal blood pressure (Over 80s) | <150 | <90 | <145 | <85 |
| High-normal blood pressure (pre-hypertension) | 120–140 | 80–90 | 120–140 | 80–90 |
| Stage one | 140–160 | 90–100 | 135–150 | 85–95 |
| Stage two | 160–180 | 100–120 | >150 | >95 |
| Stage three (Severe hypertension) | >180 | >120 | N/A | N/A |
International Society of Hypertension (ISH) Classification
| Category | Systolic (mm Hg) | Diastolic (mm Hg) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal BP | <130 | and | <85 |
| High-normal BP | 130–139 | and/or | 85–89 |
| Grade 1 hypertension | 140–159 | and/or | 90–99 |
| Grade 2 hypertension | ≥160 | and/or | ≥100 |
What Is A Normal Blood Pressure Range?
Ideally your blood pressure should be between 90/60mmHG and 120/80mmHg to be considered within the normal blood pressure range, also known as the normotension range. The main concern however, often referred to as the “silent killer,” is high blood pressure or hypertension, which rarely has obvious symptoms. The World Health Organisation estimates 1.28 billion adults aged 30-79 have high blood pressure, with 46% of those unaware that they have it. If left untreated persistent hypertension can increase your risk of a number of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as:
-
– aortic aneurysms
– heart attacks
– heart disease
– heart failure
– kidney disease
– peripheral arterial disease
– strokes
– vascular dementia
If you have high hypertension, getting it back down to a lower blood pressure, even by a small amount, can help lower your risk of these serious health conditions.
Should I be concerned that my blood pressure is categorised as hypertension stage 1 or hypertension stage 2?
Your blood pressure’s overall status comes in as being ‘hypertension stage 1’ in general, for example the World Health Organisation (WHO) considers systolic readings over 140mmHg and/or diastolic readings over 90mmHg on two different days as hypertension, but on the ACC/AHA (American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association) scale, which was revised in 2017, hypertension stage 2 already begins at the boundary of readings above 140mmHg for systolic and 90mmHg for diastolic.
Your blood pressure is high and you could be on your way to developing long-term high blood pressure hypertension problems. You ought to be seeking medical advice to see what your doctor recommends for you, as you may be prescribed medicine to treat it if you do not already take any.
It is unlikely that you would recognise any symptoms yet, which only tend to manifest themselves at extremely high blood pressures, which is why high blood pressure is known as the, “silent killer”. It is recommended that you take numerous readings over different days to generate a consistent average reading. This can be easily done with one of the many cost effective blood pressure monitors available to buy for home measurements.
Keep Your Weight Under Control
Increasing obesity is normally associated with increasing blood pressure. Losing a kilogram or 2.2 pounds will generally reduce your blood pressure reading by 1mm of mercury (mmHg) although this relationship can tail off at scale, so losing 10kg may only drop 6mmHg for example. Women should aim to maintain a waist size below 89cm or 35 inches and men less than 89cm or 40 inches (depending on ethnic group). Carrying excessive weight around the waist increases the risk of high blood pressure. It is estimated that obesity accounts for 65–78% of cases of primary hypertension.
Quit Smoking or Vaping and Reduce The Amount Of Alcohol You Drink
Smoking (and vaping) or drinking too much alcohol can influence both short and long term increases in your blood pressure readings. While drinking low levels of alcohol has been shown to reduce blood pressure in some studies, exceeding moderate recommended intake levels can lead to alcohol induced hypertension – which has been shown to affect about 16% of the US population in past studies.Do Regular Exercise and Concentrate on Stress Reduction
If you want to aim for lower blood pressure, you should look to do active exercise for at least 30 minutes every day and get your pulse rate up. This can be done through activities like fast walking, yoga, swimming, weight training, or playing any active sport. You can also try to reduce stress in your life by seeking to avoid things that trigger it, or consciously attempt to handle stressful situations in a calm manner. Some people find that stress can be eased by using meditation, hypnosis or even just pursuing their interests and hobbies outside of work. Dogs have also been found to be beneficial in reducing stress and lowering blood pressure in humans and aside from the interaction with them, they provide a reason to exercise every day.
Watch What You Eat
Consider revising your current diet, try to stick to a plan that is rich in a variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains and opt for low fat dairy products, this will help keep your weight down and limit your chances of developing obesity related hypertension. Limit your salt intake too, because consuming salt has a direct correlation with causing higher blood pressures. However, as with caffeine, which can also raise blood pressure by around 10 mmHg, how sensitive a person actually is to these ingredients varies between individuals. Eating foods high in potassium helps reduce the effects of sodium on blood pressure. According to the AHA most adults should aim to limit their sodium intake to around 1.5 grams a day (a teaspoon has about 2.5g), while the World Health Organisation (WHO) deems the average actual consumption is closer to 9-12 grams per day. Opt for low sodium varieties of any processed food you buy, as processed food is typically high in salt content and accounts for 80% of the dietary salt intake in most countries according to the WHO. So remember to analyse food labels, to see how your sodium intake might be adding up.Diet plans referred to as, ‘DASH diets’ (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) can also be used to help achieve lower blood pressure as part of healthy lifestyle changes.
Key Takeaways:
- Blood Pressure Classification: A blood pressure reading of 147/95 is classified as:
- ‘Hypertension Stage 1’ by EU, UK, Japan, and International Society of Hypertension (ISH) standards.
- ‘Hypertension Stage 2’ by US standards.
- Understanding the Reading:
- Systolic Pressure (when the heart contracts): 147 mmHg
- Diastolic Pressure (when the heart relaxes): 95 mmHg
- Both systolic and diastolic readings are crucial for health assessment. The less favorable of the two typically determines the overall blood pressure classification.
- Blood Pulse Pressure:
- Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic readings. For a reading of 147/95, the pulse pressure is 52mmHg. A normal pulse pressure is around 40mmHg.
- A pulse pressure below 25% of the systolic reading is concerning, while over 100% indicates potential risks. Yours comes in at 35%.
- Interpretations Across Countries: Different countries have varying interpretations and classifications for the same blood pressure reading. The US, for instance, classifies 147/95 as Hypertension Stage 2, while many other countries consider it Hypertension Stage 1.
- Normal Blood Pressure Range: Ideally, blood pressure should be between 90/60mmHG and 120/80mmHg. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is often called the “silent killer” because it rarely shows symptoms.
- Concerns and Recommendations:
- A reading of 147/95 indicates high blood pressure and potential hypertension problems in the future.
- Regular monitoring, lifestyle changes, and consultation with healthcare professionals are essential.
- Recommendations include maintaining a healthy weight, reducing salt intake, quitting smoking, moderating alcohol consumption, exercising regularly, and managing stress.
- DASH Diet: The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet can help in achieving lower blood pressure.
- Variations in Classification: Different countries and organizations have their own scales and definitions for hypertension. For instance, the ACC/AHA scale defines a reading of 147/95 as “hypertension stage 2.”
