Blood pressure classification bar (colour indicator)
It places the reading just taken in one of the bands of the table printed in that maker’s manual. It is a pointer into that maker’s table, nothing more.
Check your monitor’s manual — makers differ.
What it is for
Read the band against the table in your own monitor’s manual, because the bands and the guideline behind them differ. Each maker adds its own caution. Beurer (BM 54): the values “serve only as a general guideline … It is important to consult your doctor regularly for advice.” Omron’s manual says to “NEVER diagnose or treat yourself based on your readings” and to “ALWAYS consult with your physician”.
These pages report what each maker’s manual says and quote it wherever health is involved. They do not diagnose anything and are not medical advice; only your own monitor’s manual describes your model.
- What it looks like
- A column or row of coloured segments beside the screen, with a triangle, arrow or lit segment pointing at one of them; some monitors use a coloured light instead.
- Names makers use
- WHO Classification Indicator (A&D); Risk indicator (Beurer); Traffic Light Indicator (Microlife); High symbol (Omron, US models); LED colour (Withings BPM Connect)
Where makes differ
Each maker follows a different guideline. A&D: “Each segment of the bar indicator corresponds to the WHO blood pressure classification”, from Optimal to Severe hypertension. Beurer’s BM 54 prints six bands, “Source: WHO, 1999”, with the red band at 180/110 and above marked “Seek medical attention” and the green bands marked “Self-monitoring”. Microlife’s triangle points at green, yellow or red “defined by international guidelines (ESH, ESC, JSH)”, red being 135 systolic or 85 diastolic and above, with the recommendation “Seek medical advice”. Omron’s US monitors have no bar: a High symbol appears at 130 mmHg systolic or 80 mmHg diastolic, following the “ACC/AHA 2017 High Blood Pressure Clinical Practice Guideline”. Withings’ BPM Connect lights its LED green, orange or red and warns the colour “may vary depending on the classification guidelines of your country”. When systolic and diastolic fall in different bands, Beurer and Microlife both show the higher one.
What it does not mean
The colour is not a diagnosis, and the same reading can land in a different band on another make: 135/85 is in Microlife’s red “blood pressure too high” band, but in “High normal” (green) on the Beurer BM 54 table, and it would bring up Omron’s High symbol.
Sources
No published standard we could check defines blood pressure monitor control icons, so this meaning is taken from 5 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- A&D: A&D — Instruction manual, digital blood pressure monitor UA-611 / UA-651 (PDF) — Section 12 “WHO Classification Indicator”: “Each segment of the bar indicator corresponds to the WHO blood pressure classification”; segments labelled Optimal, Normal, High normal, Mild, Moderate and Severe hypertension. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Beurer: Beurer — Instructions for use, upper arm blood pressure monitor BM 54 (PDF) — “Risk indicator” table: Optimal < 120 / < 80 green “Self-monitoring” up to Level 3 severe hypertension ≥ 180 / ≥ 110 red “Seek medical attention”; “Source: WHO, 1999 (World Health Organization)”; the higher category is shown. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Microlife: Microlife — Instruction manual, BP B3 AFIB Advanced (PDF) — Display item BL “Traffic Light Indicator”: “The triangle on the left-hand edge of the display points at the range … optimum (green), elevated (yellow) or high (red) … defined by international guidelines (ESH, ESC, JSH)”; ≥ 135 / ≥ 85 “blood pressure too high — Seek medical advice”. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Omron: Omron — Instruction manual, 5 Series upper arm blood pressure monitor BP7250 (PDF) — “High symbol — Appears if your systolic blood pressure is ≥ 130 mmHg or the diastolic blood pressure is ≥ 80 mmHg”; section 1.4 table, “Source: ACC/AHA 2017 High Blood Pressure Clinical Practice Guideline”; “NEVER diagnose or treat yourself based on your readings.” Checked 2026-09-28.
- Withings: Withings support — BPM Connect: what does the color of the LED mean? — “The LED color displayed on the device may vary depending on the classification guidelines of your country”: green for normal and optimal, orange for high normal, red for hypertension grade 1, 2, 3 or isolated systolic hypertension. Checked 2026-09-28.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.