Blood Pressure Chart & Checker
Check what a blood pressure reading means under the US, UK and European guidelines.
Enter a reading to see the result.
| Sys / Dia | < 90 | 90–99 | 100–119 | ≥ 120 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 140 | ||||
| 140–159 | ||||
| 160–179 | ||||
| ≥ 180 |
NICE NG136: stage 1 from clinic 140/90 with home 135/85, stage 2 from clinic 160/100 with home 150/95, stage 3 from clinic 180/120.
Places a blood pressure reading in the categories of the guideline you choose — the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC 2025), NICE in the UK, or the European Society of Cardiology (ESC 2024) — and shows where the others would put the same numbers. Enter up to three readings taken one after another and, optionally, the average of your home readings: each guideline combines them its own way. Every calculation runs in your browser.
Understanding the result
ESC and NICE put hypertension at a clinic reading of 140/90 and a home average of 135/85; AHA/ACC starts stage 1 hypertension at 130/80 and calls 140/90 stage 2. Below that they differ too: AHA/ACC has "elevated" for a systolic of 120 to 129 with a diastolic below 80, ESC has "elevated" from 120/70, and NICE names no category below 140/90 at all. Where the top and bottom numbers fall in different categories, the higher one counts.
NICE stages hypertension only from a clinic reading and a home (or ambulatory) average together: stage 1 is clinic 140/90 to 159/99 with home 135/85 to 149/94, stage 2 is clinic 160/100 to 179/119 with home 150/95 or more, and a clinic reading of 180/120 or more is stage 3 on its own. Where the two fall in different stages, the tool gives the lower, as NICE's stage 2 needs both. A high clinic reading with a normal home average is the pattern NICE and ESC associate with a white-coat effect; the reverse is masked hypertension.
A reading above 180/120 gets the AHA's advice to wait a minute and measure again, and to call emergency services with symptoms such as chest pain or difficulty speaking. ESC asks for assessment for a hypertensive emergency from 180/110. A reading below 90/60 gets the NHS note on low blood pressure. The categories are for adults who are not pregnant; with Pregnant ticked, or an age under 18 saved by another health tool on this device, no category is shown.
How to use it
Sit quietly for 5 minutes first, back supported, legs uncrossed, and the arm resting at heart height in a cuff of the right size. Avoid exercise, caffeine and smoking for 30 minutes before. Take two or three readings a minute or two apart and enter them in order.
- AHA/ACC — the average of the readings, rounded to whole mmHg.
- ESC — the average of the last two of three readings.
- NICE — a first reading below 140/90 stands alone. From 140/90, NICE takes a second, a third if the second differs substantially, and records the lower of the last two. The tool takes "lower" as the lower systolic, with the diastolic breaking a tie, and uses that reading whole.
For a home average, NICE asks for two readings at least a minute apart, seated, twice a day, for at least 4 days and ideally 7, leaving out the first day; ESC for two readings morning and evening for 3 to 7 days. Enter the average of those readings.
Examples
Readings of 145/85 then 138/92
NICE records 138/92, the reading with the lower systolic, which is at or above 140/90 by its diastolic. AHA/ACC averages the two to 142/89: Stage 2 hypertension. ESC averages them too: Hypertension.
Clinic 150/95, home average 128/80
NICE: clinic high, home below threshold. The home average is below 135/85, so NICE would not diagnose hypertension from these. ESC: Office 140/90 or more but home below 135/85: ESC's example of white-coat hypertension.
Pulse pressure and MAP for 128/76
Pulse pressure is 128 − 76 = 52 mmHg; mean arterial pressure is (128 + 2 × 76) ÷ 3 = 93 mmHg.
The guidelines side by side
| Guideline | Category (clinic) | Clinic from | Home average from |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHA/ACC 2025 | Normal | below 120/80 | below 120/80 |
| AHA/ACC 2025 | Elevated | systolic 120 | systolic 120 |
| AHA/ACC 2025 | Stage 1 hypertension | 130/80 | 130/80 |
| AHA/ACC 2025 | Stage 2 hypertension | 140/90 | 135/85 |
| AHA/ACC 2025 | Severe hypertension | above 180/120 | — |
| NICE (UK) | Below 140/90 | below 140/90 | below 135/85 |
| NICE (UK) | 140/90 to 159/99 | 140/90 | 135/85 |
| NICE (UK) | 160/100 to 179/119 | 160/100 | 150/95 |
| NICE (UK) | Stage 3 (severe) hypertension | 180/120 | — |
| ESC 2024 | Non-elevated | below 120/70 | below 120/70 |
| ESC 2024 | Elevated | 120/70 | 120/70 |
| ESC 2024 | Hypertension | 140/90 | 135/85 |
Rules and sources
AHA/ACC's categories are Table 4 of its 2025 guideline, and its home values Table 7, which the guideline offers as a guide with caution, as most of the data behind them are from outside the United States. The severe band's advice is from heart.org. ESC's are Table 5 of its 2024 guidelines; NICE's stages, its rule for recording clinic readings (recommendation 1.2.2) and its home method (1.2.7) are NG136. The low reading note is the NHS's.
India has no government category table for blood pressure: the ICMR's standard treatment workflows give 140/90 only as a treatment target, so the tool opens on NICE there, which draws the same line. The Indian Guidelines on Hypertension IV, from the Association of Physicians of India, also diagnose hypertension from 140/90.
Sources
- Jones DW et al. 2025 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults (Hypertension 2025;82:e212–e316), Tables 4 and 7 — American Heart Association
- Understanding Blood Pressure Readings — American Heart Association
- McEvoy JW et al. 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension (Eur Heart J 2024;45:3912–4018), Table 5 and section 5 — European Society of Cardiology
- Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NG136), recommendations 1.2 and 1.5, and terms used — NICE
- Low blood pressure (hypotension) — NHS
- Indian guidelines on hypertension-IV (2019) (J Hum Hypertens 2020;34:745–758) — Journal of Human Hypertension
Reviewed
Frequently asked questions
See also
- eGFR Calculator — kidney function from a creatinine result.
- BMI Calculator — BMI and the healthy weight range for your height.
- A1c Calculator & Blood Sugar Converter — HbA1c and blood sugar against the ADA, WHO, NICE or ICMR bands.