Dear Alice,  What is normal blood pressure for a 24 year old
male? Are the blood pressure machines found in supermarkets
reliable?  — Anxious  Dear Anxious,  Monitoring your blood
pressure in general (at a supermarket or doctor's office) is a
good idea, but before you get worked up about what your numbers
are, there are some things you should consider.  Blood pressure
is expressed as a fraction, the systolic pressure and the
diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure (the top number in the
fraction) is a measurement of the pressure in the arteries when
the heart contracts and pumps blood from the heart to the lungs
and body. The diastolic reading measures the pressure in the
arteries in between heart contractions, as the blood flows from
one chamber to another. In a healthy young adult the normal
systolic pressure ranges from 90 to 119, and the normal
diastolic pressure ranges from 60 to 79. According to the
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a diagnosis of high
blood pressure includes a diastolic readi