What it means
Found by subtracting the bottom number of a blood pressure from the top number: a pressure of 120/80 mm Hg has a pulse pressure of 40 mm Hg. A wide pulse pressure can come with stiff arteries in older adults, a leaky aortic valve and rising pressure in the skull. A narrow pulse pressure can come with severe blood loss, heart failure and pressure on the heart from fluid around it.
In a chart
"BP 168/62; pulse pressure 106 mm Hg."
Related terms
blood pressure
The force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries, written as systolic over diastolic in mm Hg.
systolic pressure
The top number in a blood pressure reading: the pressure in the arteries while the heart pumps.
increased intracranial pressure
Pressure inside the skull that has risen above the normal range.