Short answer: blood pressure is the force of blood against artery walls. The top number, systolic pressure, reflects pressure when the heart contracts; the bottom number, diastolic pressure, reflects pressure while the heart relaxes between beats. A single reading is a snapshot. Diagnosis and treatment decisions use repeated, correctly measured readings and the person’s overall cardiovascular risk.
Being athletic does not guarantee normal blood pressure. Endurance athletes often have low resting heart rates and may have lower resting pressure, while larger strength-trained athletes can record higher values. Cuff size, recent training, caffeine, pre-workouts, nicotine, sleep, stress, anabolic-androgenic steroids, medicines and measurement technique can all shift a result.
For Australian athletes, the useful skill is not memorising one “perfect” number. It is learning how to measure accurately, recognise a pattern, understand common confounders and know when to speak with a clinician.
Key takeaway: never judge blood pressure from how you feel. Hypertension is often silent, and a muscular arm measured with a cuff that is too small can produce a misleadingly high result.
Table of contents
- What blood pressure measures
- Understanding the numbers in Australia
- Are athletes different?
- How to measure blood pressure correctly
- Cuff size and muscular arms
- Home, clinic and ambulatory readings
- Blood pressure during exercise
- Why an athlete’s blood pressure may be high
- Low blood pressure in athletes
- What to do with repeated abnormal readings
- Can supplements help?
- Frequently asked questions
- References
What blood pressure measures
Blood pressure is written as two values in millimetres of mercury, or mmHg. A reading of 120/80 mmHg is spoken as “120 over 80”.
Systolic blood pressure
The first number is systolic pressure. It is the pressure in the arteries when the left ventricle contracts and ejects blood. Systolic pressure is influenced by stroke volume, arterial stiffness, vascular resistance and the timing of reflected pressure waves.
Diastolic blood pressure
The second number is diastolic pressure. It is the arterial pressure between beats while the heart relaxes and fills. Diastolic pressure is strongly influenced by resistance in smaller arteries and arterioles.
Pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure
Pulse pressure is systolic minus diastolic pressure. A reading of 120/80 has a pulse pressure of 40 mmHg. Mean arterial pressure is an estimate of average pressure across the cardiac cycle. These measures can add clinical context, but they should not become DIY diagnostic targets taken out of the wider assessment.
Blood pressure changes from beat to beat. Posture, breathing, talking, temperature, emotion, pain, bladder fullness and recent activity all affect it. That variability is why technique and repeated readings matter.
Understanding the numbers in Australia
Public resources and clinical guidelines use categories to help interpret blood pressure, but thresholds can differ between clinic, home and ambulatory measurement. Guidelines can also change over time. In Australia, a persistent clinic blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher has traditionally been used as a threshold for hypertension, while home and daytime ambulatory thresholds are generally lower because clinic readings can run higher.
Healthdirect Australia provides current public guidance, and the National Heart Foundation provides cardiovascular resources. A clinician should interpret your readings using current Australian recommendations and your total risk, not an overseas social-media chart.
| Pattern | What it may mean | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| One higher reading after training, caffeine or stress | May be a temporary response | Repeat under standard resting conditions |
| Repeatedly high clinic readings, normal home readings | Possible white-coat hypertension or technique issue | Review technique; consider home or ambulatory monitoring with a clinician |
| Normal clinic readings, repeatedly high home readings | Possible masked hypertension | Take the home record and device to a clinician |
| Repeatedly high clinic and home readings | Possible sustained hypertension | Arrange clinical assessment |
| Low readings without symptoms | Can be normal in some fit people | Monitor in context |
| Low readings with fainting, chest pain or severe weakness | May need urgent assessment | Seek medical care |
Why the average matters more than the best number
It is easy to repeat a reading until the device produces a number you like. That hides the pattern. A more useful record includes all valid readings taken with consistent technique across several days. Clinicians may disregard the first day or use a specified protocol, so ask how they want the record collected.
Are athletes different?
Athletic training changes the cardiovascular system. Endurance training can increase stroke volume and lower resting heart rate. Resistance training produces large, short-lived increases in blood pressure during heavy lifts. Body size, sport, sex, age and training phase all influence resting values.
A systematic review covering more than 138,000 athletes found substantial variation between studies. Strength-trained athletes had higher average resting blood pressure than endurance athletes, while measurement methods were often poorly standardised. The review also found that high blood pressure may be associated with left-ventricular hypertrophy in some athlete groups.
There are two mistakes to avoid:
- “I train, so a high reading cannot matter.” Fitness reduces many risks but does not remove hypertension, kidney disease, sleep apnoea, genetic risk or drug effects.
- “Any athlete-specific heart change is dangerous.” Normal training adaptation exists. Distinguishing physiological adaptation from disease requires clinical context and, sometimes, sports-cardiology expertise.
How to measure blood pressure correctly
Technique errors can move a reading enough to change its apparent category. Use this process for home monitoring unless your clinician gives different instructions.
Choose the right device
- Use an automatic, validated upper-arm monitor.
- Check the device against a recognised validation list.
- Avoid relying on a smartwatch or cuffless wearable for diagnosis unless that specific device has been clinically validated for the purpose.
- Bring the monitor to an appointment occasionally so its readings and your technique can be checked.
Prepare for the reading
- Avoid training, caffeine, nicotine and a large meal for at least 30 minutes beforehand.
- Empty your bladder.
- Sit quietly for five minutes.
- Measure in a quiet room at a comfortable temperature.
Position yourself correctly
- Sit with your back supported.
- Place both feet flat on the floor and do not cross your legs.
- Rest the bare arm on a surface so the middle of the cuff is level with the heart.
- Do not talk, text or watch something stressful during the measurement.
Take and record the readings
- At the first session, compare both arms. Follow clinical advice if there is a persistent difference.
- Take two readings about one minute apart.
- Measure at similar times in the morning and evening when establishing a baseline.
- Record the date, time, readings, pulse and relevant notes such as training, caffeine or symptoms.
- Use the multi-day average requested by your clinician.
Cuff size and muscular arms
Cuff size is especially important for bodybuilders and strength athletes. A cuff that is too small for the arm can overestimate blood pressure. A cuff that is too large can also distort the result.
Measure mid-upper-arm circumference and use the monitor manufacturer’s cuff range. The inflatable bladder must fit the arm appropriately; simply forcing a standard cuff around a large arm is not adequate.
A strongly tapered upper arm can create fitting problems. A clinician or pharmacist can help identify a suitable wide-range or conical cuff and compare it with a properly performed clinical measurement. Do not move the cuff to the forearm and assume the number is equivalent unless a clinician has advised and validated that method for you.
Home, clinic and ambulatory readings
Clinic blood pressure
Clinic measurement allows professional technique and assessment but can be raised by anxiety, rushing, pain or conversation. One clinic reading should rarely carry the full decision.
Home blood-pressure monitoring
Home monitoring provides multiple readings in an ordinary environment. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found that home self-measurement was associated with a small additional reduction in blood pressure compared with usual care, particularly when paired with support. Use the FITCNT guide to measuring blood pressure at home for device validation, muscular-arm cuff sizing, body position and a seven-day record. Monitoring works best when the result leads to an appropriate plan; collecting numbers without acting on them has limited value.
Ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring
A 24-hour ambulatory monitor measures blood pressure through the day and night. It can help confirm sustained hypertension, detect masked hypertension, assess overnight pressure and separate a clinic effect from the usual pattern. It is often treated as the reference method when diagnosis remains uncertain.
White-coat and masked hypertension
White-coat hypertension describes high clinic readings with lower out-of-office readings. Masked hypertension is the opposite. Athletes can experience either pattern. Masked hypertension matters because a reassuring clinic number may conceal repeated elevation during ordinary life.
Blood pressure during exercise
Systolic pressure normally rises during dynamic exercise as cardiac output increases. Diastolic pressure often changes less because working muscles dilate their blood vessels. Heavy resistance exercise can produce very large transient pressure spikes, particularly with maximal effort and breath-holding.
An exaggerated exercise blood-pressure response may be associated with future hypertension or cardiovascular risk, but definitions and protocols differ. A gym reading taken immediately after a hard set is not a resting blood-pressure test.
Exercise testing should be interpreted by clinicians using a standard protocol. Do not use an abnormal exercise result to self-prescribe medication or to decide that all heavy training is unsafe.
Why an athlete’s blood pressure may be high
Persistent high blood pressure can be primary hypertension or secondary to another condition, medicine or substance. Athlete-relevant contributors include:
- anabolic-androgenic steroids: associated with higher blood pressure through several pathways;
- stimulants: pre-workouts, high caffeine intake, nicotine, decongestants, prescribed stimulants and illicit drugs can overlap;
- rapid weight gain: additional body mass increases cardiovascular workload;
- sleep apnoea: common in larger athletes and strongly relevant to hypertension;
- NSAIDs: frequent anti-inflammatory medicine use can raise blood pressure and affect kidney function;
- kidney or endocrine disease;
- high sodium intake in a salt-sensitive person;
- heavy alcohol intake;
- poor sleep and chronic stress; and
- measurement error: particularly a small cuff, no rest period or recent training.
Enhanced athletes should read steroids and blood pressure: why it rises and what to watch. Anyone seeing a repeated elevation should use high blood pressure in athletes for common causes, confirmation and next steps. A supplement added on top of an unidentified cause is not a complete plan.
Low blood pressure in athletes
Some fit people have low resting blood pressure without symptoms. That can be normal. Low blood pressure becomes more concerning when it is new, produces symptoms or reflects dehydration, blood loss, infection, an arrhythmia, medicine effects or another medical problem.
Relevant symptoms include dizziness, fainting, blurred vision, unusual weakness, confusion, nausea and exercise intolerance. A drop when standing may suggest orthostatic hypotension, but proper measurement and clinical interpretation are needed.
Athletes making weight, training in heat, using diuretics or restricting fluids can develop dangerous dehydration and electrolyte disturbance. “Just add salt” is not universally safe, particularly for someone with hypertension, kidney disease or heart disease.
What to do with repeated abnormal readings
- Check the equipment and technique. Confirm cuff size and device validation.
- Collect a consistent multi-day record. Note caffeine, training, medicines, PEDs and symptoms.
- Review likely contributors. Include stimulants, NSAIDs, sleep apnoea, alcohol, rapid weight gain and drug exposure.
- Arrange clinical assessment. Bring the device, record and full substance list.
- Follow through. Blood tests, ambulatory monitoring or treatment may be recommended.
Do not stop prescribed blood-pressure medicine abruptly. Do not use a friend’s medicine, a diuretic or an online “protocol”. Treatment selection depends on the person’s risk, kidney function, electrolytes, other medicines and possible secondary causes.
When is it urgent?
Call Triple Zero (000) for chest pain, severe breathlessness, fainting, new weakness or speech difficulty, confusion, or other symptoms suggesting a cardiovascular or neurological emergency. A very high reading accompanied by concerning symptoms needs urgent care. If a reading is unexpectedly extreme but you feel well, sit quietly, repeat it correctly and seek prompt professional advice rather than repeatedly testing for hours.
Can supplements help blood pressure?
Some dietary changes and supplements produce small average reductions in trials, but effects vary and are generally much smaller than the effect of removing a major cause or using indicated treatment.
- Dietary pattern: a DASH-style eating pattern, lower excess sodium intake, adequate potassium from food when medically appropriate, weight management and moderated alcohol intake have stronger support than most pills.
- CoQ10: a 2025 meta-analysis reported a small reduction in systolic pressure and no significant effect on diastolic pressure.
- Magnesium: may modestly affect blood pressure, particularly when intake or status is inadequate, but indiscriminate high-dose use can cause diarrhoea and is unsafe in some kidney conditions.
- Omega-3 fatty acids: may produce modest pressure effects in some analyses, but their clearest cardiovascular use relates to triglycerides in appropriate clinical contexts.
- Beetroot/nitrate: can acutely influence nitric-oxide pathways and blood pressure, but product, dose, training context and medication interactions matter.
FITCNT Heart Support contains CoQ10 and several other ingredients investigated for cardiovascular markers. It is not a hypertension treatment. The broader evidence is reviewed in Best Heart Support Supplements Australia.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal blood pressure for an athlete?
Athletes do not have a separate universal “normal”. Many endurance athletes have lower resting values, while strength athletes may average higher, but repeated high readings still require assessment. Use current Australian guidance and individual clinical context.
Is 90/60 blood pressure normal for an athlete?
It can be normal for a healthy, symptom-free person, particularly with endurance training. New low readings or values accompanied by fainting, dizziness, chest pain, severe weakness or breathlessness need medical assessment.
Why is my blood pressure high when I am fit?
Fitness does not remove genetics, sleep apnoea, kidney disease, high body mass, stimulants, alcohol, medicines, anabolic steroids or measurement error. A correctly collected home record helps separate a temporary reading from a persistent pattern.
Can a cuff be inaccurate on a muscular arm?
Yes. A cuff that is too small commonly overestimates blood pressure. Measure mid-upper-arm circumference and use a validated device with a cuff designed for that range.
How long after training should I measure blood pressure?
For a resting reading, avoid exercise for at least 30 minutes and sit quietly for five minutes before testing. Longer recovery may be appropriate after a particularly demanding session if your clinician wants a true resting baseline.
Do anabolic steroids raise blood pressure?
They can. Research associates AAS use with higher blood pressure, although individual responses and exposure patterns vary. Fluid balance, vascular function, sympathetic activity, body mass, sleep apnoea and co-drugs may contribute.
Should I measure blood pressure before or after caffeine?
For a standard baseline, measure before caffeine or wait at least 30 minutes after it. Record caffeine intake when comparing readings because individual responses differ.
Can CoQ10 replace blood-pressure medicine?
No. CoQ10 may have a small average effect on systolic pressure in pooled trials, but it has not been shown to replace prescribed hypertension treatment. Discuss supplements with the prescriber.
What should I do if my home blood pressure is repeatedly high?
Confirm technique and cuff size, keep a multi-day record, list medicines, stimulants and PEDs, and arrange clinical review. Do not wait for symptoms because hypertension is often silent.
References and further reading
- Healthdirect Australia. What is a healthy blood pressure?
- National Heart Foundation of Australia. Blood pressure and your heart.
- Berge HM, et al. Blood pressure and hypertension in athletes: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2015.
- Hodgkinson J, et al. Clinic and home blood pressure monitoring compared with ambulatory monitoring: systematic review. BMJ. 2011.
- Satoh M, et al. Home blood-pressure self-measurement: systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025.
- Updated meta-analysis of treatment guided by home versus office blood pressure. 2025.
- Adverse effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse in athletes: systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025.
- Karimi M, et al. CoQ10 administration, blood pressure and heart rate: systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025.
This article is general education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. Blood-pressure decisions should be made with a qualified healthcare professional. Call Triple Zero (000) for symptoms that may represent a medical emergency.