How to measure blood pressure in adults and children

What is blood pressure

The volume pumped by the heart blood in combination with the resistance of the vessel walls creating the blood pressure is one of the most important indicators of overall health and the condition of the entire circulatory system.

Not on all sites the blood pressure of the same: so, his greatest strength noted in the left ventricle - that is, the output from the heart. The lowest pressure in the right atrium and veins.

Pressure of blood is pushed at the time of contraction of the heart is called systolic (in common parlance, it is called top), and the pressure arising under maximum relaxation of the heart muscle, called the diastolic (bottom).

Which indicator can be considered normal?

120/80 - here are the numbers that are considered to be normal blood pressure in children older than 14 years and adults, where 120 is the systolic ("upper") and 80 is diastolic ("lower") rate HELL.

However, despite the fact that medical science has long identified the optimal level of blood pressure, which is supposed to be guided in the assessment of the physical condition of man, there are also individual peculiarities of blood circulation that determine personal norm HELL.

So, some people maintain good health and performance at 100-110/60-70 mm Hg. article and others there are no complaints at 130/90.

That is why in the medical practice embraced the concept of working pressure - that is, the blood pressure parameters in which a person feels absolutely fine, although they may significantly differ in either direction from 120/80 mm Hg. article

Pressure in children

The force of ejection of blood from the heart to the different periods of life is changing, and with it changes and blood pressure: the rate of AD in children and adults, therefore, are also different.

In children under years of normal value SD is calculated by the formula 76+2n, where n is the number of full months of a child's life. Diastolic pressure is about 2/3-1/2 the norms systolic blood pressure.

After years as a guide in defining the norms systolic blood pressure is considered to be the formula 90+2n, where n - age of child in completed years. Diastolic pressure is calculated according to the formula 60+n.

In 10-12 years, the BP levels in children almost reaches the "adult" rules andequals 100-110/70-85 mm Hg. Interesting article that the pressure in boys is normally slightly higher than that of girls.

Pressure in adults

14 years blood pressure, finally attains its norm: most healthy adults, it rises to the level of 120/80 mm Hg. the article, however, in some cases, as mentioned above, BP may be somewhat above or below this figure while maintaining good health.

Lifestyle, habits, work and diet influence the condition of blood vascular, blood circulation, and ultimately in the blood pressure, therefore there is the extreme limit of normal, equal to 139/90 mm Hg. article

Elderly people who have to age, blood pressure remained at the level of 120/80, there is little here play the role of acquired diseases of vascular, heart and other organs, can cause intermittent or persistent increase in blood pressure.

Devices to measure blood pressure

If you feel unwell (headache, rapid or originoo heartbeat, weakness, shortness of breath) you need to measure your blood pressure: it is likely that the cause of discomfort lies precisely in its increase or decrease against the norm.

This can be done by using a special device - a tonometer. Modern blood pressure monitors a variety of different methods of measurements and designs.

They include:

• Automatic
• Semi-automatic
• Mechanical

A conventional device for measuring blood pressure consists of a cuff, where the air is pumped through the pear and the digital display or manometer, which records the measurements of blood pressure, and stethoscope. With it, you can hear a specific noise - tremors blood that specify figures of pressure.

Cuffs depending on the configuration of the device can be mounted on the shoulder or wrist.

Measurement equipment

Correct blood pressure measurement is a technique that is not only to secure the cuff, pump in the air and listen to the resulting tremors of the blood, and then lock the two received digits.

The procedure also requires some training the patient proper posture during measurement of blood pressure:

• Last cigarette before the pressure control has to be smoked not less than half an hour before the manipulation
• You need to abstain from strong coffee, tea and alcohol for the same half an hour before measuring blood pressure
• Before measuring you need to sit quietly or lie down for 10-15 minutes

Only when performing the aboveyou can start to control blood pressure.

Depending on the type of device for blood pressure measurement procedure is as follows:

• If your device is a standard mechanical tonometer, then you need to wrap the cuff around the shoulder at heart level, pump in the air. The gauge will immediately start to move up. Immediately need to wear the stethoscope.
• Pumping must stop at the level exceeding the expected maximum number to 20-30 mm Hg. article, then evenly lower the air while listening with a stethoscope tones - a characteristic tremors.
• You need to remember the moment of occurrence of the first shock - it will measure the systolic pressure, and the time of the last push - a figure that indicates the diastolic pressure.
• Measurement of blood pressure using an electronic device requires the same preparation, but is even simpler: there's no need to listen to tones with a stethoscope in the display tonometer figures AD will appear automatically.

Which arm to measure pressure? This can be done on either hand, which turned out to be more convenient: figures in total may be slightly different, but the concept of the clinical significance of these differences have not.

The pressure you measure is not just for hands: an equally important method of diagnosing certain diseases of the blood vascular can be AD measurement on his feet.

What better device is electronic or mechanical?

A large variety of existing devices for measuring blood pressure involves the same opportunities for choice.

What monitor to choose?

The main problem is accuracy: accuracy is sometimes quite significant and may be 5-10 mm Hg. article

A conventional manual blood pressure monitor is inexpensive, but the measurement of blood pressure it requires skill, or assistance that is not always feasible. However, it is believed that it gives more accurate results.

Electronic blood pressure monitors easy to use: they can measure pressure and independently, but the error is sometimes large enough - especially in budget models.

"White coat hypertension"

Some perfectly healthy people during blood pressure measurement can be recorded correctly results in quite high numbers, although in General no complaints suggestive hypertension, these patients do not show outside of the doctor's office feeling fine.

This phenomenon is associated withpersonal fears, which appear only in a medical facility: a person is afraid that now he will put a terrible diagnosis starts to worry.

The adrenaline rush that always accompanies attacks of intense fear that causes spasm of blood vascular and, as a consequence, short-term rise in blood pressure, which is very quickly returning to normal, a man should leave the doctor's office.

What is the "mm Hg. article"?

Often first faced with the need to control the HELL people don't know what unit is used to measure blood pressure, however it is very simple: a mysterious "mm Hg. article" means only a millimeters of mercury.

Why? The fact that the device itself was invented long time ago - back in the beginning of the last century, when medical instruments are widely used mercury, known for their fusible. For years, the device for the control of HELL was a scale with a mercury column whose height varied depending on the strength blood pressure and measured in millimeters.

Mercurial sphygmomanometers even thirty years ago exhibited in medical museums, replaced by a more safe and precise instrument, and the measure remained the same in honor of the great Italian, Scipione Riva-rocci author of one of the most important devices that exist in modern medicine.

What other units of measure their blood pressure?

The French still prefer centimeters of mercury, so their measurement data for the us are somewhat unusual. To bring them into conformity with ours, you just need to multiply by ten both measures.

When there is an increase (decrease) pressure

Blood pressure changes constantly; its rate depends on the time of day, daily activities, certain human States.

Pressure naturally increases with:

• Intense physical activities
• Stressful situations
• Smoking, alcohol abuse
• Eating certain foods and beverages, coffee, strong tea, tonics, spicy cheeses

Salt retains liquid, so the addiction to overly salted food increases the risk of developing hypertension. Of course, all of salt may be avoided, as this can cause equally serious health problems, but to limit its consumption is both possible and necessary.

Very often the reason for the jump in blood pressure is the use of some drugs - for example, the usual drops from a cold or the drug licorice, appointed with a strong cough. This is due to the pronouncedvasoconstrictor effects of drugs, so their use should be treated seriously and in any case do not exceed the recommended dose.

The pressure decrease in healthy people occurs during sleep when the body needs to rest. The morning is the most significant decrease in blood pressure. During the first hours after waking up it normalized.

Lowering blood pressure (sometimes to dangerous levels) occurs during bleeding. Quickly falling HELL is a terrible symptom of internal bleeding or myocardial infarction.

To reduce pressure can and sedative drugs, which are normally taken in a state of anxiety and insomnia: these include tincture of Valerian, motherwort, hypnotics medication.

Tincture of hawthorn, which is often prescribed to normalize heart rhythm, is also able to significantly reduce blood pressure. This is especially pronounced effect when taken in alcohol tinctures.

If blood pressure increased

Hypertension where the blood pressure parameters considerably above the usual "working" pressure, may be episodic, and persistent.

Can it be considered an infrequent and short-lived rise in blood pressure a slight indisposition, which does not require attention? The medical statistics testifies that all his jumps - a sign of incipient problems with blood vascular and nervous system, since both of these systems with age or due to certain diseases gradually lose their compensatory ability.

If you are experiencing headaches, dizziness, heart palpitation and there are other signs of problems with blood pressure, you should start to control their HELL, along the way turning to the experts for examination.

The fact that hypertension can be both an independent vascular pathology and a symptom of other diseases:

• Acute and chronic glomerulonephritis
• Other renal diseases
• Diabetes
• Tumors of the adrenal glands
• Of hyperthyroidism

The biggest danger of high blood pressure is that the disease may occur for years with minimal and transitory symptomatology: deterioration of health of patients attributed to stress, fatigue, physical stress. This is partly true, because such causes and become the starting mechanism of development of hypertension.

But whatever were the causes of high blood pressure, it requires immediate medical checkup, treatment and a complete revision of lifestyle, habits and food system.

What to do for hypotension?

Usually draws attention to itself increase in bloodpressure, as it is fraught with many serious consequences - strokes and heart attacks. However, people with low AD suffer no less, although free from the risk of becoming disabled or dying from a vascular catastrophe.

The quality of life of hypotensive patients can not be called high: constant feeling of weakness, fatigue, dizziness and irregular heart rhythm, shortness of breath, sweating interfere with life the same as the symptoms of high blood pressure.

Even stress these people react differently: as a result of great physical or emotional stress, the pressure falls from them, although it should rise.

Causes of hypotension can lie in congenital weakness of the nervous regulation of vascular tone and the heart and diseases that can cause permanent pressure drop:

• Lowering thyroid function (hypothyroidism)
• Peptic ulcer of the stomach and intestines due to the risk of frequent bleeding
• Tuberculosis
• Cervical osteochondrosis
• Heart failure
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Hepatitis

Hypotension may develop with a lack of some kinds of vitamins E, C and B5. The replenishment of vitamin deficiency gives the opportunity to normalize AD and to improve the quality of life of people.

It is believed that physical activity leads to increased blood pressure, since during training and hard work the blood flow to the muscles and heart increases.

However, sometimes the opposite reaction: fatigue entails a sharp decrease in blood pressure. This condition in medicine is known as hypotonia training. Optimization of load helps to restore the normal state of health.

What you need to do hypotensive? Remember that persistent or recurrent hypotension is a serious reason for seeking medical attention and hypertension: possible cause of your condition - latent diseases of different organs and systems.

In addition to medical monitoring hypotensive patients require a special mode of the day and nutrition, as well as a daily tonic treatments - douches, massages, swimming, jet sessions.

Well-regulate the pressure, bringing it back to normal, tonic tincture - preparations of ginseng, Eleutherococcus, hellebore. However, their use requires the same accuracy as the use of antihypertensives. Appointed by tonic medicines only a doctor after proper examination.

Normal blood pressure - the key to total body health, vitality and efficiency, so the state of the vascular need to follow since childhood: eat right, regulate physical and psychological stress, not to buybad habits.

Active lifestyle, mobility help to maintain normal weight and avoid, as a result, excessive load on the heart, education in vascular of atherosclerotic deposits.