Vital Signs by Age
Age-banded vital-sign reference ranges, with the disagreement between guideline sets shown rather than hidden.
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Vital Signs by Age
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| There is no single agreed table | Guideline sets disagreePALS and APLS publish different upper and lower limits for the same ages, and a nationwide emergency-department study found roughly 15% of children had a heart rate outside the PALS reference range — so a value outside these bands is not automatically abnormal, and a value inside them is not automatically reassuring. |
|---|---|
| What actually matters | The trend, and the child in front of youA rising respiratory rate over successive checks carries more information than one reading compared with a table. |
Heart rate (beats per minute), awake
PALS-derived bands as tabulated by StatPearls. Treat as teaching bands, not thresholds.
| Neonate (under 28 days) | 100–205 |
|---|---|
| Infant (1 month – 1 year) | 100–190 |
| Toddler (1–2 years) | 98–140 |
| Preschool (3–5 years) | 80–120 |
| School age (6–11 years) | 75–118 |
| Adolescent (12–15 years) | 60–100 |
| Adult | 60–100Commonly taught adult band; athletes are routinely lower without pathology. |
Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg)
PALS-derived bands as tabulated by StatPearls.
| Infant (1–12 months) | 72–104 |
|---|---|
| Toddler (1–2 years) | 86–106 |
| Preschool (3–5 years) | 89–112 |
Educational reference. Age-banded vital-sign limits differ between guideline sets and a meaningful proportion of healthy children fall outside them. Use your facility's own parameters and assess the whole patient.
Sources
- StatPearls, Vital Sign Assessment (NCBI Bookshelf NBK553213) — heart-rate and blood-pressure tables derived from PALS — read 2026-09-03
- Distribution of Pediatric Vital Signs in the Emergency Department: A Nationwide Study (PMC7465456) — evidence that a substantial minority of well children fall outside PALS bands — read 2026-09-03