Blood pressure is the pressure exerted on blood vessels by blood circulating in the body. It has two phases: systole and diastole – systole occurs when the cardiac muscles contract and pump blood through the body’s arteries, and diastole occurs when the cardiac muscles relax between heartbeats. Blood pressure is therefore measured using both systolic and diastolic readings with millimeters of mercury (mmHg) as the unit of measurement. Normal blood pressure levels in adults are below 120 systolic and 80 diastolic mmHg. Adults with blood pressure measurements between 120 and 139 systolic or 80 and 89 diastolic mmHg are said to be prehypertensive, while those with blood pressure readings of at least 140 systolic or 90 diastolic mmHg suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and mortality, but is often manageable with the use of antihypertensive medications and lifestyle alterations, such as...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Readings
Dey, A. N., & Lucas, J. W. (2006). Physical and mental health characteristics of U.S.- and foreign-born adults: United States, 1998–2003. Atlanta: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Grotto, I., Huerta, M., & Sharabi, Y. (2008). Hypertension and socioeconomic status. Current Opinion in Cardiology, 23, 335–339.
Huh, J., Prause, J., & Dooley, C. (2008). The impact of nativity on chronic diseases, self-rated health and comorbidity status of Asian and hispanic immigrants. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 10, 103–118.
Koya, D., & Egede, L. (2007). Association between length of residence and cardiovascular disease risk factors among an ethnically diverse group of United States immigrants. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22, 841–846.
Marcelli, E. A. (2004). The unauthorized residency status myth: Health insurance coverage and medical care use among Mexican immigrants in California. Migraciones Internacionales, 2, 5–35.
Marcelli, E. A., Holmes, L. M., Estella, D., da Rocha, F., Granberry, P., & Buxton, O. (2009). (In)visible (im)migrants: The health and socioeconomic integration of Brazilians in metropolitan Boston. San Diego: Institute for Behavioral and Community Health (iBACH), San Diego State University.
Marcelli, E. A., Holmes, L. M., Troncoso, M., Granberry, P., & Buxton, O. (2009). Permanently temporary?: The health and socioeconomic integration of Dominicans in metropolitan Boston. San Diego: Institute for Behavioral and Community Health (iBACH), San Diego State University.
Mujahid, M. S., Diez Roux, A. V., Morenoff, J. D., Raghunathan, T. E., Cooper, R. S., Ni, H., et al. (2008). Neighborhood characteristics and hypertension. Epidemiology, 19, 590–598.
Passel, J. S., & D’Vera, C. (2008). U.S. population projections: 2005–2050. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
Singh, G. K., & Siahpush, M. (2002). Ethnic-immigrant differentials in health behaviors, morbidity, and cause-specific mortality in the United States: An analysis of two National Databases. Human Biology, 74, 83.
Steffen, P. R., Smith, T. B., Larson, M., & Butler, L. (2006). Acculturation to western society as a risk factor for high blood pressure: A meta-analytic review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 386–397.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Marcelli, E.A., Holmes, L.M. (2012). Blood Pressure. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_86
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_86
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5655-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5659-0
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine