mmHg to kPa Converter

How the mmhg to kpa conversion works

One millimetre of mercury is 0.133322 kilopascals: kPa = mmHg × 0.133322, and mmHg = kPa ÷ 0.133322. The factor comes from the density of mercury and standard gravity — a 1 mm column of mercury exerts 133.322 pascals — which is why the unit is also called the torr, after Evangelista Torricelli, inventor of the barometer.

The blood-pressure connection: this is the conversion patients meet most. A reading of 120/80 mmHg — the textbook “normal” — is 16.00/10.67 kPa. Some countries and textbooks quote blood pressure in kPa, so a result written as 16.0 kPa systolic is the same reading as the familiar 120 mmHg, not a different measurement. The two numbers in a blood-pressure reading convert independently: convert the systolic and diastolic figures one at a time.

Beyond the clinic: mmHg still appears in weather and vacuum work. Older barometers and some vacuum gauges read in mmHg or torr, and laboratory vacuum is often quoted in torr — 1 torr = 1 mmHg exactly by definition in modern usage, so the same factor applies. For weather-scale pressures, see our inHg to hPa converter instead.

Handy benchmarks: 80 mmHg = 10.67 kPa, 120 mmHg = 16.00 kPa, 140 mmHg = 18.67 kPa, 760 mmHg = 101.33 kPa (one standard atmosphere) and 1,000 mmHg = 133.32 kPa. Note that clinical thresholds are defined in mmHg — a converted kPa figure is for comparison only, and treatment decisions use the original units.