Blood pressure is the pressure in your blood vessels (vasculature). It is what causes the blood to flow. If it is too high, especially for a prolonged period, it can damage the blood vessels leading to serious disease. The blood pressure decreases as the blood moves from the heart through the blood vessels and back to the heart. It is at its highest level in the aorta. Blood pressure is normally measured in the brachial artery which is close to the aorta. When blood pressure is measured, two values are recorded, the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure. These two pressures represent the high and low values of the pulse produced when the heart contracts. A mean value is also computed from the systolic and diastolic.
