NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)Clinical Patient CareHard
A medical assistant is taking a patient's vital signs. The patient's blood pressure is 142/90 mmHg. According to the American Heart Association guidelines, which of the following classifications does this blood pressure fall under?
- AHypertension Stage 1
- BElevated
- CNormal
- DHypertension Stage 2
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Hypertension Stage 2
According to the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, a blood pressure reading of 142/90 mmHg falls into Hypertension Stage 2. This is because Stage 2 Hypertension is defined as a systolic pressure of 140 mmHg or higher, or a diastolic pressure of 90 mmHg or higher. Since this patient's diastolic pressure is 90 mmHg and systolic is 142 mmHg, it meets the criteria for Stage 2.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Hypertension Stage 1 is defined as systolic 130-139 mmHg OR diastolic 80-89 mmHg.
- B. Elevated blood pressure is 120-129 mmHg systolic AND less than 80 mmHg diastolic.
- C. Normal blood pressure is typically below 120/80 mmHg.
AHA BP Classification
The American Heart Association classifies blood pressure into categories: Normal, Elevated, Hypertension Stage 1, and Hypertension Stage 2, based on systolic and diastolic readings.
- Normal: <120/<80.
- Elevated: 120-129/<80.
- Stage 1: 130-139 or 80-89.
- Stage 2: >=140 or >=90.
Memory trick: Normal's Fine, Elevated's a Sign, Stage 1's Start, Stage 2's Alarming Heart.