Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS)

Blood pressure of person, category

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels. Blood pressure is typically recorded as two numbers, written as a ratio. The higher number, the systolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. The lower number, the diastolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats.

Person refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programs.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classifications and/or lists:

• Blood Pressure
• Hypertension prevalence