How much pressure does it take to get the blood all the way down to my toes?



  1. 0 Votes

         Healthy blood pressure is considered less than 120/80 mmHg. Blood pressure readings are written as the pressure in your veins the moment your heart beats over pressure when it is at rest. It is written as mmHg, or millimeters of mercury, which is the metal used in the measuring instrument on a blood pressure cuff. Unless your blood pressure is dangerously low, which hopefully is isn’t, the heart is able to pump blood through every part of your body. 

         Along with low blood pressure, diseases like Reynaud’s syndrome and diabetes can make it difficult for blood to reach your fingers and toes. 

  2. 0 Votes

    Gravity will take the blood right down to your toes automatically, even with no blood pressure.  If you were to stand on your head, however, your blood would need a certain pressure in order to be pushed by other blood upward to your feet, which is pushed out by your heart.  The same goes for blood moving back from your feet to your heart.  The pressure is dependent on the density of your blood multiplied by the height from your heart to your toes multiplied by gravity (height x density x gravity).  Gravity is the same for everybody, and blood density will be the same on average for everybody (height x 1 x 1), so the amount of pressure required to push blood all the way to your toes is only dependent on the distance (height) from your heart to your toes.  Like maggief said, it is measured in mmHg, which is just height [of something with a certain density on earth].  You could just as easily measure pressure it in feet of blood.  Although it would be a bit morbid.

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