A blood pressure of 106/65 is a good reading. It falls well within the normal category, which the American Heart Association defines as below 120/80 mmHg. Both your systolic number (106) and your diastolic number (65) sit comfortably under those thresholds, putting you in the healthiest blood pressure range.
Where 106/65 Falls on the Scale
Blood pressure is categorized into distinct ranges. Normal is anything below 120/80. Elevated blood pressure starts at 120-129 systolic with a diastolic still under 80. Stage 1 hypertension begins at 130/80. At 106/65, you’re not close to any of those concern thresholds.
Your pulse pressure, the gap between the top and bottom numbers, is 41. A pulse pressure around 40 is considered healthy by Mayo Clinic standards. Values above 60 start to become a risk factor for heart disease, particularly in older adults. So that gap looks fine too.
Who Commonly Has This Reading
A reading of 106/65 is especially common in younger adults, women, and people who exercise regularly. In a study of nearly 2,900 athletes aged 9 to 35, the average blood pressure for female athletes was 116/71, meaning many of them had readings at or below yours. Male athletes averaged 123/73. If you’re physically active, a reading in this range is exactly what you’d expect.
Blood pressure also naturally dips during pregnancy, particularly in the second trimester. Normal blood pressure during pregnancy is considered 120/80 or lower, so 106/65 is well within a healthy range for that context as well.
Could 106/65 Be Too Low?
For most people, no. There’s no fixed number that defines “too low” the way there is for high blood pressure. Most healthcare professionals consider blood pressure problematic only when it causes symptoms. If you feel fine at 106/65, it’s simply your normal baseline.
The symptoms that signal blood pressure is too low for your body include dizziness or lightheadedness, fainting, blurred vision, fatigue or unusual sluggishness, nausea, trouble concentrating, and fast shallow breathing. If you regularly experience any of these, especially when standing up quickly, the reading deserves a conversation with your doctor even though the number itself looks normal on paper.
A sudden drop matters more than a consistently low number. A change of just 20 mmHg can cause dizziness or fainting, even if the resulting number would be “normal” for someone else. So if 106/65 is a significant drop from your usual reading, that context is important.
One Nuance for Women
Research from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute found that cardiovascular risk may begin at lower blood pressure levels for women than for men. In a study of over 27,500 adults, women showed increased risk for cardiovascular events starting in the 100-109 mmHg systolic range, while men didn’t see similar increases until much higher numbers. Heart attack risk for women began between 110-119 mmHg, compared to 150-159 mmHg for men.
This doesn’t mean 106/65 is dangerous. It means that for women, a systolic reading in the low 100s isn’t automatically “the lower the better” the way older guidelines implied. Researchers suspect anatomical differences like artery size may explain the gap, though this area of study is still being refined. For a single reading, 106/65 remains well within a healthy range for both sexes.
Making Sure Your Reading Is Accurate
A single blood pressure reading is a snapshot, not a diagnosis. To confirm 106/65 reflects your true resting blood pressure, the CDC recommends sitting comfortably with your back supported for at least five minutes before measuring. Rest your arm on a table at chest height, and make sure the cuff sits against bare skin, not over a sleeve. The cuff should be snug without being tight.
Taking two or three readings a minute apart gives you a more reliable picture. Blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day based on stress, caffeine, hydration, and even a full bladder. If you consistently see readings in the 106/65 range across multiple measurements, you can be confident that number is genuinely yours, and it’s a good one.