If you have looked up a blood pressure chart, you have seen the same five adult labels: Normal, Elevated, Stage 1, Stage 2, and Hypertensive crisis. Those names come from the American Heart Association’s public explainer and from the clinical guideline that sets adult cutoffs. They are useful for talking about a pattern. They are not a diagnosis of you.
This article restates the published adult ranges and points to the sources. It is not medical advice.
The adult category table
The AHA’s Understanding Blood Pressure Readings lists these adult categories. Systolic is the first number; diastolic is the second. Categories use and / or on purpose — one number can be enough to land in a higher category.
| Category | Systolic (mmHg) | and / or | Diastolic (mmHg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Less than 120 | and | Less than 80 |
| Elevated | 120–129 | and | Less than 80 |
| High blood pressure stage 1 | 130–139 | or | 80–89 |
| High blood pressure stage 2 | 140 or higher | or | 90 or higher |
| Hypertensive crisis | Higher than 180 | and/or | Higher than 120 |
Crisis is an urgent clinical situation, not a logging curiosity. If numbers are in that range, follow the emergency guidance on the AHA page and whatever your clinician has told you — do not “wait to see the weekly average.”
Why one reading is a poor label
Blood pressure moves. Caffeine, a full bladder, talking, a too-small cuff, a white-coat waiting room, and the first reading after sitting down can all shove a number across a boundary. That is why home logs ask for repeats and for more than one day.
A fair use of the chart:
- Look at several readings, same arm, same routine.
- Notice whether mornings and evenings tell different stories.
- Bring the list to someone who can put it next to your history and medications.
An unfair use of the chart: screenshots of one 131/78 after a sprint up the stairs, then midnight WebMD.
Where the cutoffs are published
Two sources are enough for most people who just want to know “says who?”:
- American Heart Association — Understanding Blood Pressure Readings. Plain-language adult categories and the crisis warning.
- 2025 AHA/ACC Guideline — Jones et al., Hypertension 2025. doi: 10.1161/HYP.0000000000000249. The clinical document behind current adult prevention, detection, and management recommendations.
Older charts you still see on fridge magnets may use the pre-2017 cutoffs. If a printout disagrees with the AHA page, the published AHA/ACC sources win.
What apps should do with these labels
If software stamps “Stage 1” on a row, it should also show where that stamp came from. Hiding the chart behind a paywall or a vague “according to guidelines” line is how people lose trust — and how app reviewers ask for citations.
Educational labels should stay educational: no treatment plan from a color dot, no claim that the phone measured the pressure. The cuff measured. The software classified the numbers you confirmed.
How to read your own list
When you sit with two weeks of home numbers:
- Count how often you are in each band, not just the latest cell.
- Ask whether technique was consistent (same chair, rest, cuff).
- Separate “I felt awful that morning” from “the number was high.” Both can be true; they are different data.
Then take the list to the visit. The category vocabulary exists so you and a clinician can point at the same ranges. It does not exist so you can titrate a medication alone.
BP AI shows these AHA adult labels on each saved reading and links the same two sources in the app. The classification is informational. Your clinician still owns the plan.