Under ACC/AHA guidelines, a BP reading of 128/82 mmHg is classified as Stage 1 hypertension because:

• A. SBP 128 is Stage 2
• B. DBP 82 places the reading in Stage 1 because the DBP is 80-89
• C. Neither SBP nor DBP meet Stage 1 criteria
• D. All readings above 120/80 are Stage 1

Answer: (B)

Under ACC/AHA guidelines, blood pressure is categorized based on thresholds for either the systolic or the diastolic value, and a reading falls into the highest category any component reaches. Stage 1 hypertension is defined as a systolic reading of 130–139 or a diastolic reading of 80–89. In this measurement, the systolic is 128, which is not in Stage 2, but the diastolic is 82, which sits in the 80–89 range. Since the diastolic value meets Stage 1 criteria, the overall reading is classified as Stage 1. It would not be Stage 2 because neither value reaches 140 for systolic nor 90 for diastolic. Also, readings aren’t classified simply by a blanket statement like “all readings above 120/80 are Stage 1”; Stage 1 specifically corresponds to the ranges for either value, with the diastolic value here driving the classification.