Pediatrics

Pediatric Vital Sign Ranges Calculator

Normal heart rate, respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure by age.

Reviewed by Alex G, BSN, RN, CEN, CCRN, CMC, NREMT-P · From the Reference tab of the app

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Formula

Minimum systolic BP (1–10 y) = 70 + (2 × age in years)

How it is used

• Ranges are approximate; trends and the child’s appearance matter more than a single number.
• A slowing heart rate in a sick infant or child usually means hypoxia, not improvement.
• Hypotension is a late sign of shock in children: treat tachycardia with poor perfusion before the pressure falls.

Same formula as the app. Open it in the web app.

Related one-pagers

• Normal Vital Signs by Age: Adult, Child and InfantPediatric ranges come from different methods: expert consensus tables (such as PALS or APLS), hospital protocols and studies of healthy children. A 2011 systematic review of observational studies built centile charts for heart rate and breathing rate from birth to 18 years and found that published reference ranges often disagreed with the measured data, with limits that fell outside the 1st and 99th centiles.
• Pediatrics: Growth, Vital Signs and ImmunizationsApproximate awake ranges for study; published ranges differ
• Pediatric Assessment and Emergencies

Related calculators

• Pediatric Safe Dose Range

For education and exam preparation only. Follow your institution’s protocols. For education and exam preparation only. Verify results independently and follow your institution’s protocols. Not a substitute for clinical judgment.