Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Each time our heart beats pumps blood into the arteries. Blood pressure is highest when the heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When our heart is at rest, between beats, our blood pressure falls. This is called diastolic pressure. A blood pressure reading uses these two numbers. Usually, the systolic number comes before or above the diastolic number.