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Getting to Know Your
Blood Pressure Monitor
Blood pressure monitors use the oscillometric
method of measuring blood pressure. The monitor
can detect the blood's movement through the
brachial artery and convert it into a digital reading.
The monitor is easy and simple to use and does not
require a stethoscope.
10
Information on Blood
Pressure
Your blood pressure level is determined in the
circulatory center of your brain and adjusts to a
variety of situations through feedback from the
nervous system. To adjust blood pressure, the
strength and speed of your heart (your pulse) and the
width of your circulatory blood vessels are altered.
Blood vessel width is controlled by fine muscles in
the blood vessel walls. Your level of arterial blood
pressure changes periodically during heart activity.
During "blood ejection" from the heart (systole),
pressure is highest (systolic blood pressure value /
SYS). At the end of the heart's "rest period" (diastole),
pressure is lowest (diastolic blood pressure value /
DIA). Blood pressure values must lie within certain
normal ranges in order to prevent particular diseases.
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