Hi Audrey, good question. Your blood pressure is a measurement of the force the blood is being passed through the blood vessels. It is measured as systolic over diastolic, which means the amount of pressure in the vessels when the heart is contracting over the amount of pressure In the vessels when the heart is at rest. The pulse is used to measure four things: Heart rate (arguable the most important and usually measured in beats per minute) Rhythm, Character and Volume. These can be used to assess cardiovascular health. Hope that helps!