The modern rhythm of life, frequent stresses, malnutrition - all this has a detrimental effect on the state of human health, provoking sharp jumps in blood pressure. This ultimately leads to poor health and the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Approximately 40% of the population suffers from high blood pressure. Most of these people are not even aware of this. After all, not everyone knows how to correctly get the results of measuring blood pressure. This is exactly what will be discussed in this article. In order to correctly measure and determine your indicators, first of all, you need to know which hand to measure pressure on.
Is there a difference?
Most people believe that pressure should be measured on the right hand. However, such an opinion is erroneous. Other people think that it doesn’t make any difference what kind of hand to measure pressure on.
Interestingly, such reasoning is also incorrect. A prerequisite for the most accurate measurement of pressure indicators is to fix the parameters on both hands. The procedure itself takes a few seconds, so conducting it twice will not be difficult. As a rule, indicators on the hands differ in their values (within 10–20 mmHg). A large difference in the measurement results can be a sign of the presence of a disease such as dissection of the aortic walls, which is extremely rare, but has serious consequences.
Which arm has higher pressure?
This question also often sounds. In about half of the entire population, pressure on the right hand exceeds those indicators that were obtained on the left. Accordingly, there are representatives of humanity who have the opposite. Slightly fewer people, approximately 45%, have higher pressure on their left hands. By the way, both options are considered the norm. There are no accurate indicators as to where the blood pressure is higher, on which hand.
There are two ways to measure pressure. Manipulations can be performed both on two hands simultaneously, and alternately. It takes a few minutes. So, it is quite clear that there is no definite data on the fact that the indicators should be higher or lower. This is a purely individual feature of the human body.
However, just knowing which hand to measure pressure on is not enough to obtain reliable results. There are a number of rules for carrying out such a procedure.
Simple rules for accurate metrics
To obtain the most accurate results, you should not use products such as coffee, alcohol and tobacco several hours before the blood pressure determination procedure. Before measuring indicators, you should rest and relax a bit to get the most accurate data.
Learning to work with mechanical and electronic tonometers
Few also know how to correctly measure pressure with a tonometer. Although this procedure is incredibly simple.
In order to measure the pressure using a mechanical tonometer, it is necessary to fix the cuff on the hand released from the clothes. Try not to pull the limb too much. Make sure that the distance between the arm and the cuff is approximately the diameter of the index finger. The phonendoscope is placed in the area of the elbow, where the ripple is well heard. Then follows the rapid inflation of air (up to 140-170 mm.). After this, slowly release the air by loosening the valve. The first shock (pulsation) heard will be the value of the upper pressure. Pay attention to the number indicated by the arrow at that moment. The final blow marks the lower pressure limit.
New technologies simplify the task as much as possible. The easiest way to measure blood pressure is to manipulate with an electronic blood pressure monitor.
It can be bought at almost every pharmacy. There are no special rules on how to measure pressure with an electronic blood pressure monitor. To do this, just put a cuff on your hand and press the button on the device itself. No further action is required. The electronic tonometer will conduct all measurements by itself.
Blood pressure
In order to correctly determine whether the pressure is too high or too low, you also need to know what is the norm of these data of the human body. Satisfactory indicators are considered to be 100-130 mm RT. Art. for the value of the upper pressure and 60-85 mm RT. Art. for lower parameters. Any deviations in one direction or another indicate the presence of any disease.
What are the changes in blood pressure
The main causes that cause hypertension are diseases of the kidneys and heart, hormonal failure, impaired vascular tone. Hypotension can provoke vegetative-vascular diseases, deviations in the work of the gastrointestinal tract and cardiac system. If you notice that your pressure is far from the norm, do not postpone the visit to a specialist. Initially, you can contact a therapist who will conduct an examination and prescribe the correct treatment. Or he will refer you to another specialist if he discovers a disease that is not within his competence to treat.