stage 2 hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 160 mm hg or higher or a diastolic blood pressure of 100 mm hg or higher. blood pressure is expressed as the systolic blood pressure “over” the diastolic blood pressure. for example normal blood pressure is “120 over 80”. assigning “stages” to blood pressure was the idea of a national committee dedicated to raising awareness and treatment of hypertension. in their system stage 1 is blood pressure that’s high (140-to-159 systolic or 90-to-99 diastolic) but not as high as in stage 2. the higher stage expresses the more serious health risks from untreated severe high blood pressure. however some experts argue that the term “stage” is misleading because it suggests that blood pressure steadily gets worse in stages which is not always the case.
what is stage 2 hypertension? . stage 2 hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 160 mm hg or higher or a diastolic blood pressure of 100 mm hg or higher. blood pressure is expressed as the systolic blood pressure “over” the diastolic blood pressure. for example normal blood pressure is “120 over 80”.