High blood pressure is a sure thing that none of us want to experience and as much as possible, we want to prevent that to happen to us and to the people whom we love. Our lives should be worth spending and to be lived healthily. One thing that we can do to check and monitor our blood pressure is to regularly check it for the help of people around us or the professionals. There are currently different kinds of blood pressure monitor that are now out in the market. Each of them may require a different way of reading.
One of the most common blood pressure monitors is with the use of Sphygmomanometer
and a Stethoscope. Once the cuff is properly placed on the upper portion of the arm, inflation of the
cuff should follow. The one who is doing the reading should rapidly inflate the bulb to inflate the cuff
on your arm. He should keep pumping while looking at the monitor until the needle on the gauge
reaches 180mmHg. The pressure that the inflated cuff will occlude a large artery on your bicep which
temporarily cuts off blood flow. This is the reason why pressure from the cuff can be felt which may be
strange for first timers. After that, he should release the valve by turning it gently in a counter clockwise
motion, so that the air in the cuff is steadily released at a moderate pace. The reader should keep an
eye on the gauge. Normally, the needle should be moving downwards at a rate probably of 3mm per
second.
The next thing to be one is to note your systolic blood pressure. The stethoscope is needed for
it is used to listen for a thumping or knocking sound. When a first thump is heard, it should be noted. It
connotes you systolic blood pressure which represents the pressure your blood flow exerts on the walls
of an artery that happens after the heart contracts or beats. The next thing to listen is the diastolic blood
pressure. After hard thumping sounds, you will hear a “whooshing” sound. This is your diastolic blood
pressure already. This one represents the blood pressured that your blood flow exerts on the walls of
an artery when the heart relaxes between contractions. This is written down on the bottom part of the
reading while systolic on top.
Someone in your house should have knowledge on how blood pressure monitor is used
especially if you have with your people who are at high risk or more prone to heart attacks and
hypertension. Normally, it strikes most the old ones but as the world is changing, even young people can
already be at high risk of hypertension. Also, there are foods that should be eaten minimally or should
not be eaten at all in order to prevent high blood pressure. Our health is very precious to each and one
of us and taking care of it is the best thing that we can do.