About Blood Pressure - Prestige medical HM-30 Instruction Manual

ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE

1. What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the pressure or the force of blood fl owing
against the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is constantly
changing during the course of the cardiac cycle. Systolic
blood pressure is the highest pressure in the cycle. Diastolic
blood pressure is the lowest pressure in the cycle. Both
pressure readings, the Systolic rate and the Diastolic rate, are
information for the physician to evaluate the status of patient's
blood pressure. Many factors such as physical activities,
anxieties and time of day can infl uence one's blood pressure.
Blood pressure is typically low in the morning and increases
from the afternoon to the evening. It is lower in the summer
and higher in the winter.
2. Why is it useful to measure blood pressure at home?
Having one's blood pressure measured by a doctor in a
hospital, or clinic tends to stimulate nervousness in a person
and may cause the blood pressure to rise.
Blood pressure changes in different conditions, so judgment on
the basis of a single measurement is not reliable.
Blood pressure measured fi rst thing in the morning after waking
up and before taking any food is known as the fundamental
blood pressure. This is why it is useful to take blood pressure at
home.
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