USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Houston, Texas

Age-based Pediatric Blood Pressure Reference Charts

Required Values

Birth Date: (mm/dd/yyyy) Birth Date is required.Please enter a Date.
Measurement Date: (mm/dd/yyyy) Measurement Date is required.Please enter a Date.
Gender: Please select 'Male' or 'Female'. Please select a Gender.

Anthropometry

Measurement Units: Please select a valid item. Please select an item.
Height (cm): Please enter a Number.The entered value is less than the minimum required.The entered value is greater than the maximum allowed.Height is required.
Systolic (mm Hg): Please enter a Number.The entered value is less than the minimum required.The entered value is greater than the maximum allowed. Required value
Diastolic (mm Hg): Please enter a Number.The entered value is less than the minimum required.The entered value is greater than the maximum allowed. Required value

All values must be entered in order to calculate percentiles for Blood Pressure and Height.

A percentile shows the relative position of the child's measurement (such as Blood Pressure or Height) among children of the same sex and age.

For example, a boy at the 25th percentile for height is taller than 25% of boys his age. If a girl is at the 40th percentile for height, she is taller than 40% of girls at that same age.

BMI vs Age Reference Curve

Please Note: The calculators on this page have been updated and replaced by newer versions.

The new calculators can be found here: Pediatric Blood Pressure - Updated

Why monitor blood pressure (BP)?

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is an important health issue in children, because of its association with obesity. High blood pressure is considered a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and high BP in childhood has been linked to high BP in adulthood.

This calculator can help to determine whether a child has a healthy blood pressure for his/her height, age and gender. In boys and girls, the normal range of blood pressure varies based on height percentile and age. This calculator automatically adjusts for differences in height, age and gender, calculating a child's height percentile along with blood pressure percentile. The normal blood pressure range, while steadily increasing with age, will shift based on the child's height.

Mouseover Info

If you mouse-over the graphs, you'll see the data values for points you hover over.

tool-tip showing graph data

The pop-up will identify the percentile line, followed by the age (yrs), then the value being graphed (blood pressure). Mouse-over the subject's data point to see the subject's data values.

The BP reference data include the 50th, 90th, 95th, and 99th percentiles for age and height for both boys and girls. So the graphs on this page show the upper half of the blood pressure range found in children. Normal BP is defined as systolic and diastolic blood pressures that are below the 90th percentile. The systolic number represents BP in blood vessels when a heart beats. The diastolic number is the pressure in blood vessels between beats, when the heart is at rest.

How do we evaluate blood pressure

Blood pressure is not always consistent, and can vary even when the child is resting. Thus, elevated BP readings should be repeated and confirmed over several visits before a child is identified as having hypertension. The most precise measure of a child's BP is an average of multiple measurements taken over several weeks (or even months) by a health professional.

A common approach is to obtain 3 assessments from different days to more reliably measure blood pressure.

BP-for-age status categories and their related percentile ranges are shown in the following table:

Blood Pressure for Age - Status Categories
A Systolic and/or Diastolic BP Percentile of:	Suggests that a child has:
Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile	Hypertension
90th to less than the 95th percentile	Prehypertension
BP greater than 120/80 mm Hg	Prehypertension (Elevated) *

* Readings for Children with BP exceeding 120/80 mm Hg may indicate Stage 1 or Stage 2 hypertension, so putting those BP readings into the context of percentiles can help a health care provider determine appropriate treatment.

The 2 stages of hypertension indicate how high above the 95th percentile a child's BP level is.

Stage 1 hypertension ranges from the 95th percentile to 5 mm Hg above the 99th percentile.

Stage 2 hypertension BP levels are higher than 5 mm Hg above the 99th percentile.

To be accurately diagnosed with hypertension, a child must have systolic or diastolic blood pressure equal to or greater than the 95th percentile on three separate occasions.

You can read more about blood pressure on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site: CDC.

Data Source

The tools provided here are based on publicly available data from the following source:

The Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Individual results, when compared to other children, can be affected by many factors. Thus, this software should not be used for medical diagnostic or treatment purposes. Additionally, the authors and their affiliated institutions are not liable for any damages to users or third parties arising from the use of this software.

This software is protected under international copyright law. Unauthorized duplication or distribution is a violation of copyright. Entering this section of the web site implies acceptance of the conditions stated above.

Supporting Publications

National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group on High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents. The fourth report on the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure in children and adolescents. Pediatrics 2004; 114(2 Suppl 4th Report): 555-76.

Rosner B, Cook N, Portman R, Daniels S, Falkner B. Determination of blood pressure percentiles in normal-weight children: some methodological issues. Am J Epidemiol 2008; 167(6): 653-66.