# Blood pressure Biomarker · id `core:blood-pressure` · Cardiovascular Atlas · release `2b2017b84496b985` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Also called: BP Browse, organ or system: Blood vessels Browse, condition area: High blood pressure ## In plain language How hard the blood pushes on the arteries and other blood vessels. Oscillometric blood pressure devices estimate a systolic value and a diastolic value. ## Technical summary MeSH descriptor D001794, Blood Pressure. Systolic and diastolic pressure are the two values that oscillometric devices estimate. Diagnostic thresholds and targets are not part of this identity. Each belongs in a cited claim about a named guideline edition. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Adults with elevated blood pressure or hypertension (2024 ESC guideline) Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults with elevated blood pressure or hypertension. Age limits and pregnancy handling are not stated in the sources read.; Care setting: Not stated in the sources read; Geography: Not stated in the sources read (guideline of the European Society of Cardiology; applicability by country not verified); Life stage: Adult; Follow-up: Not applicable (guideline context) ### The European Society of Cardiology's summary of its 2024 guideline introduces a blood pressure category called elevated blood pressure: an office systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 70 to 89 mmHg. Hypertension remains an office pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher. The reason the summary gives is that drugs that lower blood pressure can cut cardiovascular risk even for people who fall short of the usual definition of hypertension. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Guidance - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults with elevated blood pressure or hypertension. Age limits and pregnancy handling are not stated in the sources read.; Care setting: Not stated in the sources read; Geography: Not stated in the sources read (guideline of the European Society of Cardiology; applicability by country not verified); Life stage: Adult; Follow-up: Not applicable (guideline context) - Limitations: The source is the ESC's own condensed Essential Messages and its guideline page, not the guideline itself, so the table wording, class of recommendation and level of evidence were not read. Two later corrections are listed in PubMed, their text was not read, and the Essential Messages was produced before both, so whether the corrections change the category and thresholds given here is unknown. These are the ESC's office-measurement categories; home and ambulatory thresholds were not read. Any other guideline states its own categories and thresholds. A claim about another guideline is recorded separately and is not reconciled with this one, so this claim does not say which is right or that the categories are interchangeable. Pregnancy handling is not stated in the sources read. - Last checked: Not recorded - Source problem: a cited source is corrected. Check the sources before relying on this claim. - Sources: 1. Supports: 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension (Guideline, edition Issued by the European Society of Cardiology and published in European Heart Journal 45(38):3912-4018. The publisher field is the journal publisher as Crossref names it. Publisher summary only. The version of record was not read: doi.org and academic.oup.com returned HTTP 403 (a Cloudflare challenge), PubMed holds no abstract for it, and Europe PMC lists it as subscription required. The facts come from the ESC Essential Messages PDF for this guideline, found through the ESC Essential messages page, and from the ESC guideline page. Two later corrections are listed in PubMed (Eur Heart J 2025 Apr 7;46(14):1300, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf031, and 2025 Dec 1;46(45):4949, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf659). Their text was not read, and the Essential Messages was produced before both.) Locator: Section 1 Key messages, message 4. Retrieved 2026-10-11T19:13:32Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 1002525ded65298879e25304fbc88d4af91631b7dd4977df3ec2e67f504ffd98. How it applies: ESC Essential Messages PDF for the 2024 guideline. 2. Background: 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension (Guideline, edition Issued by the European Society of Cardiology and published in European Heart Journal 45(38):3912-4018. The publisher field is the journal publisher as Crossref names it. Publisher summary only. The version of record was not read: doi.org and academic.oup.com returned HTTP 403 (a Cloudflare challenge), PubMed holds no abstract for it, and Europe PMC lists it as subscription required. The facts come from the ESC Essential Messages PDF for this guideline, found through the ESC Essential messages page, and from the ESC guideline page. Two later corrections are listed in PubMed (Eur Heart J 2025 Apr 7;46(14):1300, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf031, and 2025 Dec 1;46(45):4949, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf659). Their text was not read, and the Essential Messages was produced before both.) Locator: Introduction: new simplified classification of blood pressure. Retrieved 2026-10-11T19:13:03Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 06bcd4ebdc3eb0f68f2fd1e2c0fa308e22cc89ced3a50dc40fff1096e4500d30. How it applies: The ESC page confirms a new classification without giving values. 3. Background: 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension (Guideline, edition Issued by the European Society of Cardiology and published in European Heart Journal 45(38):3912-4018. The publisher field is the journal publisher as Crossref names it. Publisher summary only. The version of record was not read: doi.org and academic.oup.com returned HTTP 403 (a Cloudflare challenge), PubMed holds no abstract for it, and Europe PMC lists it as subscription required. The facts come from the ESC Essential Messages PDF for this guideline, found through the ESC Essential messages page, and from the ESC guideline page. Two later corrections are listed in PubMed (Eur Heart J 2025 Apr 7;46(14):1300, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf031, and 2025 Dec 1;46(45):4949, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf659). Their text was not read, and the Essential Messages was produced before both.) Locator: Corrigendum link. Retrieved 2026-10-11T19:13:03Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 06bcd4ebdc3eb0f68f2fd1e2c0fa308e22cc89ced3a50dc40fff1096e4500d30. How it applies: The ESC page links a corrigendum dated 11 February 2025; its text was not read. 4. Background: 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension (Guideline, edition Issued by the European Society of Cardiology and published in European Heart Journal 45(38):3912-4018. The publisher field is the journal publisher as Crossref names it. Publisher summary only. The version of record was not read: doi.org and academic.oup.com returned HTTP 403 (a Cloudflare challenge), PubMed holds no abstract for it, and Europe PMC lists it as subscription required. The facts come from the ESC Essential Messages PDF for this guideline, found through the ESC Essential messages page, and from the ESC guideline page. Two later corrections are listed in PubMed (Eur Heart J 2025 Apr 7;46(14):1300, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf031, and 2025 Dec 1;46(45):4949, doi 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf659). Their text was not read, and the Essential Messages was produced before both.) Locator: CommentsCorrectionsList, two ErratumIn entries. Retrieved 2026-10-11T19:12:57Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: f9afb12c7dd4e0a09ed8cba2fbbc89cf98fe1655ea1bfe1bb04012b061740281. How it applies: Shows that two corrections exist. What they change is unknown. ## Context: Adults with suspected hypertension, clinic blood pressure 140/90 to 180/120 mmHg (NICE NG136 1.2) Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults aged 18 and over who are assessed for hypertension, with or without type 2 diabetes. Recommendations 1.2.3 and 1.2.4 concern a clinic blood pressure between 140/90 mmHg and 180/120 mmHg. Recommendation 1.2.8 concerns a clinic reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher followed by ambulatory or home monitoring.; Care setting: Clinic measurement first, then ambulatory or home blood pressure monitoring (NICE recommendations 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8); Geography: England, from clause 6 of the NICE terms and conditions, which presents the information as support for people in England who make decisions about funding care. Clause 8 adds that NICE does not write its content as a basis for decisions outside the United Kingdom. The NG136 page itself states no jurisdiction.; Life stage: Adult (aged 18 and over); Follow-up: Not applicable (recommendation context) ### NICE guideline NG136 confirms a diagnosis of hypertension in adults whose clinic blood pressure is 140/90 mmHg or higher and whose ambulatory daytime average or home average is 135/85 mmHg or higher. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Guidance - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults aged 18 and over who are assessed for hypertension, with or without type 2 diabetes. Recommendations 1.2.3 and 1.2.4 concern a clinic blood pressure between 140/90 mmHg and 180/120 mmHg. Recommendation 1.2.8 concerns a clinic reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher followed by ambulatory or home monitoring.; Care setting: Clinic measurement first, then ambulatory or home blood pressure monitoring (NICE recommendations 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8); Geography: England, from clause 6 of the NICE terms and conditions, which presents the information as support for people in England who make decisions about funding care. Clause 8 adds that NICE does not write its content as a basis for decisions outside the United Kingdom. The NG136 page itself states no jurisdiction.; Life stage: Adult (aged 18 and over); Follow-up: Not applicable (recommendation context) - Limitations: This states the confirmation rule of one guideline edition. It is not the atlas definition of hypertension, and it says nothing about when to start treatment. NICE gives no strength label for this recommendation, and its wording is a rule rather than an offer or a suggestion. The recommendation carries the year tag 2019. The NG136 page states no jurisdiction. NICE's terms present the information as support for people in England who make decisions about funding care, and say the content is not written as a basis for decisions outside the United Kingdom. Other guidelines set other thresholds, which are recorded in their own claims. - Last checked: 2026-10-11 - Sources: 1. Supports: Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Recommendations chapter (Guideline, edition The Recommendations chapter as shown on 2026-10-09 and fetched again on 2026-10-11 with identical bytes. The page header gives 26 February 2026 as the last update. This atlas cites six recommendations from it, each with the version tag the page shows: 1.1.3 is tagged \[2004\]; 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8 are tagged \[2019\]; 1.4.5 is tagged \[2004, amended 2019\]; 1.4.20 is tagged \[2019, amended 2022\]. Which edition of each recommendation these tags point to was not checked.) Locator: Recommendation 1.2.8, first part. Retrieved 2026-10-09T15:59:21Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 68ce72f3487ffa4715f92ddfa8aaf6e093f5aecd3598cd59a0ab58f74ce86f28. How it applies: The clinic reading condition. 2. Supports: Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Recommendations chapter (Guideline, edition The Recommendations chapter as shown on 2026-10-09 and fetched again on 2026-10-11 with identical bytes. The page header gives 26 February 2026 as the last update. This atlas cites six recommendations from it, each with the version tag the page shows: 1.1.3 is tagged \[2004\]; 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8 are tagged \[2019\]; 1.4.5 is tagged \[2004, amended 2019\]; 1.4.20 is tagged \[2019, amended 2022\]. Which edition of each recommendation these tags point to was not checked.) Locator: Recommendation 1.2.8, second part and version tag. Retrieved 2026-10-09T15:59:21Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 68ce72f3487ffa4715f92ddfa8aaf6e093f5aecd3598cd59a0ab58f74ce86f28. How it applies: The ambulatory daytime and home averages, and the version tag. 3. Background: Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Recommendations chapter (Guideline, edition The Recommendations chapter as shown on 2026-10-09 and fetched again on 2026-10-11 with identical bytes. The page header gives 26 February 2026 as the last update. This atlas cites six recommendations from it, each with the version tag the page shows: 1.1.3 is tagged \[2004\]; 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8 are tagged \[2019\]; 1.4.5 is tagged \[2004, amended 2019\]; 1.4.20 is tagged \[2019, amended 2022\]. Which edition of each recommendation these tags point to was not checked.) Locator: Recommendations, introductory text, paragraph 3. Retrieved 2026-10-09T15:59:21Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 68ce72f3487ffa4715f92ddfa8aaf6e093f5aecd3598cd59a0ab58f74ce86f28. How it applies: Says the diagnosing recommendations apply to all adults. 4. Background: Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Update information chapter (Guideline, edition The chapter as fetched on 2026-10-11. The page header gives a last update of 26 February 2026. Its first entry is the February 2026 addition of recommendation 1.2.11.) Locator: Update information, August 2019 entry. Retrieved 2026-10-11T19:11:28Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 97c0bd4a7ddc90a0a531cbf45225d6d254709245dc317cbc7c7f1be2b88e9108. How it applies: Explains that recommendations marked with the 2019 tag were made after a 2019 evidence review. 5. Background: NICE terms and conditions, including the Notice of Rights (Webpage, edition The page as fetched on 2026-10-11. It shows no version date; its footer carries the year 2026.) Locator: Clause 6, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-11T19:11:33Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 663d4a4be632810ae88513ec6386193a7b373159e5e2ecd4ec61419e2e4c408a. How it applies: Source of the England audience read for this claim. 6. Background: NICE terms and conditions, including the Notice of Rights (Webpage, edition The page as fetched on 2026-10-11. It shows no version date; its footer carries the year 2026.) Locator: Clause 8. Retrieved 2026-10-11T19:11:33Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 663d4a4be632810ae88513ec6386193a7b373159e5e2ecd4ec61419e2e4c408a. How it applies: Source of the United Kingdom reliance limit read for this claim. ## Connected pages - Diagnosis thresholds are cited claims about blood pressure: Hypertension (high blood pressure) (`core:hypertension`) - Measured by: Home blood pressure monitoring (`core:home-bp-monitoring`) - Measured by: Automated upper-arm cuff blood pressure device (`core:automated-upper-arm-cuff-device`) - Measured by: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) (`cardio:ambulatory-bp-monitoring`) ## Provenance Content hash: dcfaa8114a28816a8019250a33a898b56501f86e238fc4dd40cf18687b22e52f Last substantive edit: 2026-10-11 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-11