Which option best represents the commonly accepted adult blood pressure range?

Which option best represents the commonly accepted adult blood pressure range?

• A. 70/40 to 110/70
• B. 90/60 to 140/90
• C. 100/70 to 160/100
• D. 80/50 to 120/80

Answer: (B)

Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers: the pressure during heartbeats and between heartbeats. For most adults, there’s a broad range that’s considered acceptable—starting at a lower end that still provides adequate organ perfusion and extending up to an upper end before hypertension is diagnosed. This window includes readings that are generally not worrisome and excludes readings that would clearly indicate too low (hypotension) or too high (hypertension). The other options push toward extremes or leave out readings that fall in the normal variation, so they don’t fit as well. Therefore, the range that best matches everyday clinical practice for adults is the one that spans from the lower end of acceptable perfusion to the upper end before hypertension is diagnosed.

Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers: the pressure during heartbeats and between heartbeats. For most adults, there’s a broad range that’s considered acceptable—starting at a lower end that still provides adequate organ perfusion and extending up to an upper end before hypertension is diagnosed. This window includes readings that are generally not worrisome and excludes readings that would clearly indicate too low (hypotension) or too high (hypertension). The other options push toward extremes or leave out readings that fall in the normal variation, so they don’t fit as well. Therefore, the range that best matches everyday clinical practice for adults is the one that spans from the lower end of acceptable perfusion to the upper end before hypertension is diagnosed.