You check your blood pressure and the monitor shows 118/80 mmHg. Is that a healthy reading, or does the lower number being exactly 80 mean you need to be concerned?

This concern came from a question posted on Quora: ‘Is 118 over 80 a normal blood pressure?’

We dug deeper and reached out to Dr Nimit Nagda, Internal Medicine Expert at Zynova Shalby Hospital, Ghatkopar West, Mumbai , for answers.

DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.

“The systolic number, 118, indicates the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts and pumps blood,” Dr Nagda explains.

The diastolic number, 80, on the other hand, indicates the pressure when the “heart relaxes between two beats”.

“Both numbers are important for understanding how the cardiovascular system is functioning.…