Blood Pressure
When you hear the term blood pressure, what this is referring to is the actual exerted force of the blood as it circulates throughout the body. This force from the blood is placed on the sides of your blood vessels and is considered to be one of your vital signs. The blood pressure itself can actually be considered to be arterial pressure and not actually blood pressure as this pressure usually declines as it passes through the various portions of your blood network such as your capillaries and veins. This measurement of the blood pressure is done through the use of a sphygmomanometer. The sphygmomanometer originally used mercury to measure the pressure, thus the term mmHg or inHg which quite simply refers to millimetres or inches of mercury. However mercury is no longer actually used due to its harmful properties as a heavy metal. The most traditional means of actually measuring the blood pressure is known as auscultatory or oscillometric measuring. The first comes from Latin and means to listen. While this may not be the most accurate means, it is still the most common. When a nurse or a doctor is using a sphygmomanometer with a stethoscope, this is the form of measurement that they are doing. At one point in time the palpitation measurements were performed by measuring the heart’s palpitations. It was once thought that a measurement could be made without any tools other than the actual heart beat. While this of course is true and if you are trained enough you can get rough systolic measurements through this manner, it is in no way accurate. The auscultatory method is the one in which a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope is used. The sphygmomanometer is accompanied by a cuff that is inflatable. This cuff is known as the Riva-Rocci cuff and it is placed on the bicep in line with the heart. This is by far considered to be the most common and is the gold standard for the measurement of one’s blood pressure. However, when the sound of the heart beat is not monitored in order to get the blood pressure such as in the case of the drug store meters or the electronic home meters, this is then known as the oscillometric method.
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