Pressure meter

A pressure meter today is a convenient tonometer, which differs in size, degree of automation, and accuracy of work.

Human health tends to deteriorate due to age-related changes and many other factors. But the development of medicine does not stand still, which allows you to create a variety of devices that allow you to effectively monitor the condition of patients even outside the hospital.

The arterial tone meter is designed to monitor this important diagnostic indicator and prevent the development of many pathologies in the human body.

It is important that this device is always at hand and easy to use.

Types of tonometers

“Vessel tone meter” or blood pressure is a concept that is used in everyday communication.

This name speaks for itself: after using the tonometer, a person recognizes two indicators - systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

In the past, pressure measuring devices using mercury were widely used. The chemical element reflected the vascular tone. All other elements in the nineteenth century were the same: pear and cuff. However, the toxicity of mercury does not allow its use at the present stage of development of medicine. The result of such tonometers is the most accurate, which leads to their use by narrow specialists.

Mechanical tonometer

Tonometers have been modified and changed over time. The first inventions for measuring pressure were mechanical devices.

The standard kit for measuring pressure mechanically includes:

• A cuff that is applied most often on the shoulder, less often on the wrist.
• Rubber pear supplying air.
• The phonendoscope amplifies the noise generated by the pulse wave.
• A manometer with a dial, which, when measured directly, reflects the results of the study.

The accuracy of the result also remains high for a long time of use.

The pressure measurement procedure is simple:

• Cuff overhead on the arm, more precisely - on the shoulder.
• By means of a pear, air is pumped.
• The phonendoscope is fixed on the ulnar artery.
• The slow removal of air allows you to determine the strongest noise during pulse shocks, which reflect two pressure indicators.

The result of the study is recorded in two figures.

It is also important to be guided by the following recommendations for the most accurate measurement:

• The patient should be seated or laid down. The person should not cross their legs.
• At least 15 minutes must have passed since the last physical activity or emotional excitement. The last meal should be at least half an hour before.
• The cuff is applied exclusively to the surface of the skin without clothing. In any position of the patient, the lower edge of the cuff should be parallel to the fifth intercostal space.

A mechanical tonometer is a closed mechanism, which does not allow anything to influence the course of measurement from the outside. Minor movements of the patient or conversation also do not distort the data obtained. The mechanical device does not require changing batteries or recharging the battery, as well as frequent verification.

For home use, such blood pressure monitors are most often not quite suitable (it is better to measure the indicators with a semi-automatic device or automatic machine). To measure blood pressure, you must be able to listen to the pulse. But the elderly, who are more likely to suffer from hypertension, may have impaired hearing, making the procedure impossible. For them, it may be difficult to simply pump air with a pear due to arthritis and other pathological processes.

If the decision is made in the direction of acquiring a mechanical tonometer, then it is better to buy a device with a metal case. Well, if the pear is securely soldered to it. The phonendoscope should be made of high-quality plastic, which will also increase its service life.

Tonometers automatic and semi-automatic

Over time, blood pressure monitors appeared that require a minimum of effort from a person to measure blood pressure. These devices are automatic or semi-automatic, and also fit on the shoulder, wrist and even on the finger. Tonometers with this principle of operation independently pump air and record pressure readings. It turns out that a person only needs to correctly position the cuff on his shoulder or wrist and wait. The patient must be seated with the cuff parallel to the intended location of the heart.

The automatic sphygmomanometer has the following advantages for out-of-hospital use:

1. The speed of the measuring procedure. In order to assess the level of blood pressure, one minute is enough.
2. The small size of the device allows you to always have it with you. The wrist as a place for measuring pressure is convenient because it does not require you to release your hand from clothing.
3. Ease of use for every person, the tonometer can be used everywhere: on the street, at work, in the country.
4. The automatic blood pressure monitor also has the function of measuring the number of pulse waves or simply the pulse.

Despite a number of positive characteristics, experts say that an automatic blood pressure monitor has the least accurate indicators (it is better to choose a mechanical or semi-automatic one).

If a person has high blood pressure constantly, he has a confirmed diagnosis of arterial hypertension, then it is better not to use tonometers of such a plan at all. Blood pressure monitors with automatic operation usually have a high price.

There is also a semi-automatic device for measuring pressure, which is somewhat lower in price. It practically does not differ from its automatic counterpart, except that the air injection mechanism remains manual, a pear is used. A semi-automatic tonometer, if used correctly, will also serve for a long time, and in its use it will not require replacement of batteries or accumulators.

When do you need a blood pressure monitor

Approximately every third inhabitant of the Earth suffers from arterial hypertension, so it is quite advisable for each person to take this diagnostic indicator under control.

It is convenient to have an automatic, semi-automatic or any other tonometer.

Such a device in personal use allows you to:

1. Measure pressure in a calm environment, without panic fear of the doctor. Recently, arterial hypertension at the sight of health workers in white coats has been identified as a separate pathology.
2. Assess the effectiveness of the therapy prescribed by the doctor. Measure the pressure on their own, usually after an hour from the moment of taking the drug. Measurement of pressure at home allows you to establish the effectiveness of folk remedies that the patient can use to alleviate the condition with elevated blood pressure.
3. It is advisable to purchase a tonometer for personal use when the diagnosis of hypertension has not yet been confirmed. If a person has a burdened heredity, then cases of hypertension in the family are very frequent, so any changes in lifestyle should be regulated by pressure measurement. After all, it is better to prevent any disease, and rational nutrition, giving up bad habits and getting involved in sports are the best preventive measures of the “silent killer”.

Which tonometer is needed for each specific person, the following characteristics will help determine.

The cuff of the device must be chosen strictly in size, regardless of whether it will fit on the shoulder or wrist. A smaller or larger size will distort the blood pressure level and give an incorrect measurement. Thus, arterial hypertension cannot be controlled, and its complications will only progress.

Any automatic or semi-automatic blood pressure monitor is usually equipped with three cuff sizes, one of which can be selected:

• small (on the wrist) or children;
• cuffs of the average size;
• large cuffs.

Such a classification was obtained by cuffs, through which the pressure on the shoulder is measured. The wrist is also a convenient anatomical region for this diagnostic procedure. Cuff sizes for this area have the same classification.

To choose the appropriate cuff size, you need to measure the circumference of the upper arm along the line corresponding to the midpoint between the antecubital fossa and the level of the collarbone. The wrist should be measured at the crease of the forearm and hand.

Blood pressure monitors usually have medium-sized cuffs, so you don’t have to measure your wrist or upper arm. Cuffs for children or with a larger diameter are often specially ordered in stores or pharmacies.

It is also important to consider the following indicators:

• Each automatic or semi-automatic blood pressure monitor usually has a cuff lined with medical grade rubber. It is better if the outer trim of the cuff is made of nylon, which creates an airtight grip on the arm. The cuffs on the shoulder have a Velcro fastener, on the wrist they are an open bracelet.
• Device automation is another option of choice. Automatic or semi-automatic tonometer mechanism are the most common. Which tonometer to choose for yourself is determined by everyone, but the automatic device is undoubtedly the simplest. Neither model of the tonometer requires a person to have professional skills in listening to the pulse. But verification of these devices should be performed more often than for mechanical counterparts.
• When choosing any model of a tonometer, you should pay attention to the convenience of the display, which reflects the pressure readings. If the device is purchased for an elderly person, the numbers should be as large and clear as possible.
• It is also important to decide which method of recharging the device: if it is batteries, how often does it need to be replaced; if battery, how often to charge the device.

The range of modern pharmacies allows you to choose for each person the device that is optimal in terms of functions and price. Which tonometer is better for each individual person, you can find your way at the pharmacy counter or by studying the detailed characteristics of the models provided on the Internet pages.

Blood pressure devices can make life much easier for a patient with hypertension and prevent many complications that threaten the quality of life and life itself.