Your blood pressure reading contains a hidden number — and here’s why it matters

Heart HealthYour blood pressure reading contains a hidden number — and here’s why it mattersPulse pressure, which can indicate how stiff your blood vessels are, provides a window into heart and brain health.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleGet the Most out of Your Annual Physical With These Tips04:21Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 14, 2026, 6:30 AM EDTBy Lindsey LeakeYou’re likely familiar with getting your blood pressure taken, the cuff squeezing your arm before generating two numbers. Yet this vital sign contains a third, lesser-known number that matters for brain and heart health: pulse pressure.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.While blood pressure measures how much pressure the blood puts on the arteries while the heart is beating and at rest, pulse pressure provides a window into how flexible and elastic the arteries are, a sign of cardiovascular health.Doctors typically watch for high pulse pressure, which signifies stiff blood vessels, although it’s not been widely used to diagnose health problems, said Dr. Charles Hong, the chair of medicine at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine.Even so, elevated, or widened, pulse pressure is an established risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It may point to conditions such as atherosclerosis, which is when plaque builds up in the arteries.“Pulse pressure is actually a good number to have, because it reflects something else that’s going on,” Hong said.How pulse pressure is different from blood pressureWhen measuring blood pressure, pulse pressure is the difference between the top (systolic) and bottom (diastolic) readings. Systolic is the pressure on a person’s arteries when the heart squeezes and sends blood throughout the body. Diastolic is the arterial pressure when the heart is between beats.For example, an adult with a blood pressure of 120/80 mm Hg has a pulse pressure...