Blood Pressure

[plank]

What kit do you use for measuring blood pressure?

 

[Bill Gates]

What kit do you use for measuring blood pressure?

Boots Blood Pressure Arm monitor. Mine is an earlier model to this one.

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Intellisense-Blood-Pressure-Arm-Monitor_12788/

 

[Fab Foodie]

The hospital took a brain scan to check for hemorrhageing.

That's difficult to do on a spider...

The spider died.

I guess they did their best...

 

[jimboalee]

A sphygmomanometer.

 

[Trek Trauma Chris]

If you are normally healthy, then a pressure of 140/90 or lower is normal (but obviously not too low). Over the counter monitors, battery operated cuff type, sometime have problems compressing muscular arms as opposed to the average fatty ish arm. Blood pressure rises with stress (dentist, doctors, job interview etc) this is normal so long as it fall's afterwards, if in doubt see your G.P. and get a check, it could save your life from the "silent killer".

 

[jimboalee]

After the spider incident, I'm confident the capillaries in my brain can handle 190/130.

Many years of having consistantly high blood pressure ( as per a recent Medical report widely publicised ) has encouraged my system to adapt to the higher than normal pressures.

Individuals who don't have consistantly high blood pressure or have hypotension won't develop the capillaries to cope with sudden increases in pressure, and the small pipework bursts, causing a stroke.


The hospital scanned my brain JIC I had suffered a stroke, as that level of pressure might have killed a lesser individual.
There was a small amount of amazement when the scan showed no injury.

Is keeping a permanently low BP the right way to go?

 

[Crackle]

That's difficult to do on a spider...


I guess they did their best...

 

[Fab Foodie]

Thanks Crackle!
I thought that one was gonna be wasted!

 

[Bill Gates]

The pulse pressure of over 60 is a sign of being at risk of a heart attack, apparently. I'm now off to look it up.

Just been to the GP and he agrees with me that the combination of high pulse pressure and low HR is an indication of large stroke volume. He took 2 x readings of my blood pressure and the first one was 162/78 (quite high, pulse pressure 84) and HR was 46; 2nd was 142/78 (pulse pressure 64) and HR was 45.

Oh and another thing which was amazing he agreed that I didn't need to take any statins!!!

They don't normally measure small/large particled of LDL but he is going to make enquiries to see if they can do it for me. Stunned really, quite a good bloke.

 

[ASC1951]

He took 2 x readings of my blood pressure and the first one was 162/78 (quite high, pulse pressure 84) and HR was 46; 2nd was 142/78 (pulse pressure 64) and HR was 45.

I've just discovered that I have been deluding myself!

I was bothered by the variability of my Boots device, so I used to take nine successive readings then average them. That was much lower than the GP's figure, which I put down to White Coat Effect. I am now told that using the pressure cuff actually reduces the next reading, so I have gone to morning and evening readings and averaging those over the week. The downside is that it's now shown to be an unhealthy 153/92 - urgent lifestyle changes required!

What does surprise me is that if I measure it immediately after getting back from a run, it's 117/78. I would have expected it to increase under load, but then I've only got the haziest idea about the mechanics.

 

[Garz]

...as that level of pressure might have killed a lesser individual.
There was a small amount of amazement when the scan showed no injury.

Very modest jim!

 

[Trek Trauma Chris]

I've just discovered that I have been deluding myself!

I was bothered by the variability of my Boots device, so I used to take nine successive readings then average them. That was much lower than the GP's figure, which I put down to White Coat Effect. I am now told that using the pressure cuff actually reduces the next reading, so I have gone to morning and evening readings and averaging those over the week. The downside is that it's now shown to be an unhealthy 153/92 - urgent lifestyle changes required!

What does surprise me is that if I measure it immediately after getting back from a run, it's 117/78. I would have expected it to increase under load, but then I've only got the haziest idea about the mechanics.

As I have posted elsewhere on this thread, these over the counter monitors are not always accurate, in fact they can be well out. When I found that I had raised blood pressure, I obtained one of these at my G.P'S request and then embarked on my suicide mission to lose weight. I shed 3 stone in 2 months but my pressure reading were soaring 195/110 was the norm, so in panic I went back to see him earlier than arranged and he got a reading of 135/85 still the high side of normal, but that is when he told me that these devices struggle to take reading of muscular arms as opposed to fatty arms, if in doubt get your G.P. or nurse to check it with there professional equipment.

 

[Bill Gates]

I am now told that using the pressure cuff actually reduces the next reading, so I have gone to morning and evening readings and averaging those over the week. The downside is that it's now shown to be an unhealthy 153/92 - urgent lifestyle changes required!

What does surprise me is that if I measure it immediately after getting back from a run, it's 117/78. I would have expected it to increase under load, but then I've only got the haziest idea about the mechanics.

As long as you allow at least 30 seconds between readings it should be OK, as the arteries would have returned to normal. You could always try the other arm as it's the same as makes no difference. How does your HR measure up?

 

[Bill Gates]

As I have posted elsewhere on this thread, these over the counter monitors are not always accurate, in fact they can be well out. When I found that I had raised blood pressure, I obtained one of these at my G.P'S request and then embarked on my suicide mission to lose weight. I shed 3 stone in 2 months but my pressure reading were soaring 195/110 was the norm, so in panic I went back to see him earlier than arranged and he got a reading of 135/85 still the high side of normal, but that is when he told me that these devices struggle to take reading of muscular arms as opposed to fatty arms, if in doubt get your G.P. or nurse to check it with there professional equipment.

The GP had a similar one to mine and when I asked him about calibration he replied that he didn't think there was a problem. Whether or not he is right to be unconcerned I'm not so sure.

What are your corresponding HR measurements?

 

[Trek Trauma Chris]

The GP had a similar one to mine and when I asked him about calibration he replied that he didn't think there was a problem. Whether or not he is right to be unconcerned I'm not so sure.

What are your corresponding HR measurements?

In my Engineering opinion, all testing equipment needs to be checked and calibrated for accuracy. My G.P. decided to put me on one of those 24 hr monitors for blood pressure, they also take your pulse and other readings, at the end of the test you get a printed read out. I asked him if it was still OK to cycle during this time, to which he said fine, just stop when you feel the cuff tighten and wait the 30 sec whilst it tests you. I have a cycling computer on the bike which gives my heart rate, and comparing it with my wrist pulse (manually taken) it seems quite accurate. So of I go 5 Min's into ride and m/c takes a test so I stop and note my H.R. on my computer, 30 Min's later the same again and so on for 2 more tests. When I get the print out back at the surgery a day later, my blood pressures were on the raised side, but what puzzled me, and the DR. could not explain it was my H.R. read out M/C 115 bpm--ME 95bpm / M/C 120 bpm--ME 130 bpm / M/C 125 bpm---ME 150 bpm / M/C 123 bpm--- ME 170 bpm. My reading were with computer and manually as I had stopped, so the M/C was giving false readings and how do I know that the last person to use the M/C had not dropped it. Usually though my H.R. is resting 50-53 bpm, normal daytime 60-65 bpm.