The ranges
These are the commonly taught EMT-level ranges. Textbooks differ slightly at the edges, and every patient has a baseline; a marathon runner at 48 beats a minute is fine and a frightened child at 130 may be too. Trend and context beat any single number.
| Vital | Adult | Child (about 1–12) | Infant (under 1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulse (per minute) | 60–100 | about 75–140 awake: toddler 98–140, preschool 80–120, school-age 75–118 (AHA PALS) | 100–190 awake (AHA PALS) |
| Respirations (per minute) | 12–20 | about 18–37: toddler 22–37, preschool 20–28, school-age 18–25 (AHA PALS) | 30–53 (AHA PALS) |
| Blood pressure | ideal is under 120/80 (AHA/ACC). 90–140 systolic usually still perfuses but is not "ideal"; below 90 systolic is the field threshold for hypotension | hypotension is a systolic below 70 + (2 × age in years), ages 1–10 (AHA PALS) | the cuff is hard to get and late to change; judge perfusion by pulse, skin and mental status |
| Oxygen saturation | 95–100% | 95–100% | 95–100% |
| Temperature | normal is about 97.7–99.5 °F (36.5–37.5 °C); 98.6 °F is an old average, not a line. Fever is generally above 100.4 °F / 38 °C | ||
| Blood glucose | normal fasting is 70–99 mg/dL and under 140 two hours after a meal; below 70 is hypoglycemia (ADA Standards of Care) | ||
| Pupils | equal, round, reactive to light | ||
| Skin | warm, pink (at the mucous membranes in darker skin), dry | ||
What each one is really measuring
Pulse: how hard the pump is working
The heart speeds up for a reason: fear, pain, fever, blood loss, low oxygen. A fast pulse in a calm patient is the body compensating for something. A fast, weak pulse is the body compensating for not enough blood. A slow pulse in a sick patient, especially a child or a head injury, is late and dangerous.
Respirations: rate is half the story
Count the rate, but look at the work. Fast and shallow, use of neck and rib muscles, speaking in short phrases, a child grunting or flaring the nostrils: those are the signs of inadequate breathing regardless of the number. Slow, irregular breathing in an unresponsive patient is a failing brain or an overdose, and it means you breathe for them.
Blood pressure: the late sign
Pressure is what is left after the body has done everything it can: sped the heart up, clamped the vessels down. When pressure finally falls, compensation has run out. That is why a normal blood pressure never rules out shock, and a falling one is an emergency.
Oxygen saturation: useful, with limits
MedlinePlus puts the normal range plainly: “A normal oxygen saturation level ranges between 95% and 100%.” (MedlinePlus) SpO2 tells you how saturated the hemoglobin is, not whether there is enough hemoglobin or whether it is carrying the right gas. In carbon monoxide poisoning the reading can look falsely normal (CDC: the conventional pulse oximeter is not accurate when carbon monoxide is bound to hemoglobin). Cold fingers, nail polish, shivering and poor perfusion all give false numbers. Treat the patient, then the probe.
Temperature, glucose, pupils, skin
Fever raises every other rate. Low glucose looks like a stroke, intoxication or a behavioral emergency, which is why you check it in every altered patient. Unequal pupils mean pressure on one side of the brain until proven otherwise. Skin is the earliest window into perfusion: cool and pale is the body pulling blood inward; flushed and hot is vessels wide open.
How to use them
- Get a full set early, then repeat. Stable patients every 15 minutes, unstable every 5. The trend is the finding.
- Compare to the patient's own baseline when you can get it.
- Never let one normal number reassure you when the others, or the patient in front of you, say otherwise.
Pulse and skin change first. Pressure changes last. If you wait for the blood pressure to tell you someone is in trouble, you have waited too long.
Questions people ask
What are normal vital signs for an adult?
Commonly taught EMT ranges: pulse 60 to 100 per minute, respirations 12 to 20 per minute, blood pressure ideally under 120/80 (a systolic below 90 is hypotension), oxygen saturation 95 to 100 percent, temperature about 97.7 to 99.5 °F (36.5 to 37.5 °C). Individual baselines vary.
What are normal vital signs for an infant?
Infants under one year typically run an awake pulse of 100 to 190 and respirations of 30 to 53 (AHA PALS). Pulse, breathing effort, skin and mental status are more reliable warning signs in infants than the cuff.
Why is blood pressure a late sign of shock?
The body maintains pressure by speeding the heart and constricting vessels. Pressure only falls when those mechanisms are exhausted, so a normal blood pressure does not rule out shock, and a falling one means compensation has failed.
Sources
- Whelton PK et al. 2017 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. Hypertension, 2018.
- American Heart Association. Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), 2020 Guidelines, as published in San Francisco EMS Agency Protocol 14.1 (effective 10/01/2025).
- American Diabetes Association. Standards of Care in Diabetes (hypoglycemia level 1: below 70 mg/dL).
- Geneva II et al. Normal Body Temperature: A Systematic Review. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2019.
- U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus. Pulse. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003399.htm
- U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus. Rapid shallow breathing. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007198.htm
- U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus. Pulse Oximetry. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/pulse-oximetry/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Definitions of Signs, Symptoms, and Conditions of Ill Travelers. https://www.cdc.gov/port-health/php/definitions-symptoms-reportable-illness/index.html
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clinical Guidance for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. https://www.cdc.gov/carbon-monoxide/hcp/clinical-guidance/index.html