Blood Pressure Measurement

An Overview of Blood Pressure Measurement

Blood pressure measurement uses two numbers. It is written in the form of a fraction, such as 120/80. The numerator if you will (120), is the systolic blood pressure and the denominator (80) is the diastolic blood pressure.

When the heart is actually in motion, beating this pressure is called the systolic pressure. It measures the highest amount of pressure produced by the blood as the heart is pumping. The measurement of the diastolic pressure is done when the heart is relaxing or at rest, between each beat.

There are two different methods you can use to measure your own blood pressure. The first is the way your blood pressure is generally measured at the doctors office, with a cuff. The second is done digitally. This seems to be the easiest method to do yourself.

With the cuff, it is placed around the arm and is connected to a tube. On the other end of the tube is a reservoir with mercury in it. The mercury rises in the tube when the heart beats. It drops back down when the heart is resting. When the cuff is placed on the arm a ball is used to inflate the cuff.

When measuring the blood pressure digitally, there are two different methods. The first is the Auscultatory method and the second is the Oscillometric method. The second method is often referred to as the easier of the two digital methods.

With the auscultator method you will need to use a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope. The cuff should be placed on the arm in the same area as the doctor would put it in the office. The cuff should be inflated by hand. Slowly, the pressure of the cuff should be reduced. The stethoscope will be used to listen to the sound of the blood as it begins to flow.

This sound is the systolic pressure. Continue releasing the pressure until no more sounds are heard. This pressure is called the diastolic pressure. Both of the blood pressures need to be recorded in order to achieve an accurate blood pressure measurement.

In the Oscillometric measurement method is fairly easy to do , and many people are successful at determining their own blood pressure. The cuff for this method comes with a sensor to detect the flow of the blood. A mercury manometer goes on the wrist and then the wrist needs to be at the same level as the heart.

The cuff also needs to be inflated as in the auscultator method. However, this method the machine will do the work instead of the person. At the end, a reading of the blood pressure measurement is given digitally.

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