Blood pressure

Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure in the systemic circulation. It is usually measured at a person's upper arm. Blood pressure is usually expressed in terms of the systolic (maximum) pressure over diastolic (minimum) pressure and is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). It is one of the vital signs along with respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and body temperature. Normal resting blood pressure in an adult is approximately 120/80 mm Hg.

Blood pressure varies depending on situation, activity, and disease states. It is regulated by the nervous and endocrine systems. Blood pressure that is low due to a disease state is called hypotension, and pressure that is consistently high is hypertension. Both have many causes which can range from mild to severe. Both may be of sudden onset or of long duration. Long term hypertension is a risk factor for many diseases, including kidney failure, heart disease, and stroke. Long term hypertension is more common than long term hypotension in Western countries. Long term hypertension often goes undetected because of infrequent monitoring and the absence of symptoms.

Blood pressure (disambiguation)

Blood pressure may refer to:

Blood Pressure (film)

Blood Pressure is a 2012 Canadian film co-written, directed and produced by Sean Garrity. The film stars Michelle Giroux as a pharmacist who is unhappy with her life and marriage, who starts to receive letters from an anonymous admirer, asking her to undertake increasingly risky activities.

Production

The idea for the film originated in a writer's group in the Neighbourhood Bookstore and Cafe in Wolseley, Winnipeg, and is based on a story by the film's cowriter Bill Fugler. Garrity then added narrative elements to bring the idea to the big screen. The director had planned to shoot the film in Winnipeg when a sudden career opportunity for his wife led to them relocating to Toronto. Garrity found the expense of shooting in a big city to be financially and physically draining, compared to his experiences in his native Winnipeg. In an effort to find a big enough house for the film's middle-class main characters, who would not be able to afford such a large residence in Toronto, Garrity ended up filming in suburban Richmond Hill, Ontario.