A lot of things about medicine, cardiovascular diseases and their prevention are not reliable and can be misleading. And in the dissemination of this information, the main role is played by the patients themselves, while it is sometimes very difficult for medical workers to work because of prejudice and false beliefs. One of these is the possibility of supposedly accurate determination of blood pressure by pulse characteristics. This publication is intended to dispel general misconception, because it is impossible to determine the pressure by pulse with high reliability.
Exception to the rule
There is only one situation in which an indirect pattern between the heart rate and pulse rate is applied in practice. And it concerns the work of emergency medical services, whose employees must instantly assess the patient’s condition, sometimes without resorting to instrumental confirmation. In other situations, the possibility of reliable measurement of blood pressure by pulse is a conjecture of people who are not directly related to professional medicine.
Their misinformation harms by misleading the patient, forcing them to make incorrect conclusions and sometimes take medications necessary for emergency care (Clonidine and Moxonidine, Nifedipine and others). In addition, it should be remembered that if blood pressure really could be accurately or approximately determined by the voltage of the arterial wall, measuring instruments would not be needed for any of the medical workers and patients.
Pulse Measurement Inefficiency
Information on how to determine blood pressure by the pulse is given a lot of attention in numerous free sources. But they are allowed to publish materials written not by specialists in the field of medicine, but by journalists or by the patients themselves. And the problem is that these materials not only do not carry informational value, but also harm.
Very often they mention that blood pressure can be measured without a tonometer with an accuracy of 99% by the pulse voltage and its frequency. By the way, even with measuring equipment that determines blood pressure figures in an indirect way, the error approaches 10%. Unfortunately, many patients not only do not measure pressure due to the lack of devices, but also do not know how to do this, even if they use an electronic blood pressure monitor.
Heart rate and strength
Despite the conviction of many patients that a rapid heartbeat is always observed at high pressure, this thesis does not in any way help in deciding how to determine the pulse pressure on the arm. Not always intense frequent pulse indicates high blood pressure, as an increase in heart rate rarely provokes a hypertensive crisis.
An increase in blood pressure occurs due to a change in the tone of the vascular wall, rather than an increase in the heart rate and pulse. It is important not to violate the causal relationship, as it leads to mass misconceptions and forces us to draw the wrong conclusions. Their result will be the administration of antihypertensive drugs, when this is not required, which can lead to hypotension.
Types of heart rate at certain values of blood pressure
A strained, resistant pulse can be observed in many patients under normal pressure, which is typical for young patients. And on its basis it is impossible to judge poor health. At the same time, the pulse rate, with the definition and interpretation of which patients make mistakes no less than with the numbers of blood pressure, is also not a criterion for taking antihypertensive drugs. And a few examples will be given as confirmation.
A low heart rate during 1st degree AV block with a frequency of 45 beats per minute will always be resistant and intense, while blood pressure will be either normal or slightly elevated. With sick sinus syndrome, the heart rate also decreases, but blood pressure rarely drops. But with sinus tachycardia of 120 beats per minute, there may be no increase in systolic blood pressure above 140. The pulse in this situation will be moderately intense, resistant.
Arterial heart rate
With tachyarrhythmias, for example, with atrial fibrillation, the pulse rarely increases, while the heart rate increases significantly (pulse deficiency), which is traditionally accompanied by a tendency to a decrease in blood pressure. With ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, the pulse on the radial artery may not be felt (or it is threadlike), while blood pressure does tend to zero.
These contradictions do not allow the formation of universal and understandable rules for patients, because of which it is impossible for them to explain what properties of the pulse determine the level of blood pressure. Any such initiatives are dangerous, and all medical issues must be decided by a professional who is guided by criteria and scientific knowledge. It is necessary to cut down any attempts of an unqualified assessment of the parameters of cardiac activity
Rapid assessment of blood pressure levels
On how to determine the pulse pressure and how to interpret the information received, you can ask the staff of the emergency medical service or the staff of the intensive care unit and intensive care of inpatient health facilities. They will explain that it takes some effort to push blood to the peripheral arteries and overcome the total peripheral vascular resistance. In this case, they are blood pressure. And, determining the presence of a pulse on the accessible arteries, one can quickly assume whether the patient is in a state of hypotension and shock, and how severe his illness is.
The following theses will answer the question of how to determine pressure by pulse. If pulsation is detected on the carotid artery, then the level of systolic pressure is 40 mmHg or more. In the presence of a pulse on the brachial artery, the blood pressure level will be higher than 60-70 mmHg, and if there is a clear pulsation on the radial artery (on the wrist), then the systolic blood pressure is significantly higher than 80. As can be seen from the figures, an express assessment of the patient's condition without using a tonometer takes place, although this must be confirmed instrumentally. It should be noted that in the professional environment there is no talk of pulse tension.
Grounds for Mass Disinformation
Emergency personnel knowing methods for rapid assessment of the patient’s condition helps to quickly plan the tactics of care, while in all other situations there is no need for a quick measurement. Therefore, your blood pressure numbers need to be measured as accurately as possible according to the guidelines of your doctor. And this must be done using a tonometer, measuring pressure at the level of the heart, applying a cuff to the shoulder and listening to tones in the upper region of the ulnar fossa.
None of the patients should tell the doctor or other people how to determine the pressure without a tonometer by pulse, since this is misinformation, partly aimed at justifying the lack of a measuring device at home. Wanting to save money and justify frugality, patients can recommend other people to follow their example. However, this is a destructive tactic that exacerbates control over the numbers of blood pressure, incorrectly sets up each person.
The direct harm of misinformation
According to WHO statistics, of the 1.5 billion patients suffering from hypertension, about 45% of people either do not measure pressure or consciously ignore high values. It should be understood that the problem of the widespread prevalence of cardiovascular diseases was not invented by anyone who seeks world domination. This is not an elite conspiracy to make money selling drugs, but a real problem that has a very effective solution.
Asking questions about whether it is possible to determine the pressure of a person by pulse, how to treat hypertension without drugs, coming up with an excuse for not paying proper attention to his health and not having a tonometer, refusing drug therapy under any pretext, but demonstrating an addiction to alcohol and smoking, the patient avoids responsibility and will pay for it with a decrease in life expectancy and a decrease in its quality.
It is very difficult to change the opinion of others and direct their thoughts in another, more creative direction because of the opposition from the patient, his attempts to seek secret intentions in the actions of the doctor and the medical system as a whole. Meanwhile, due to lack of discipline and the inability of people to follow medical advice, the disease continues to take lives.
The need for blood pressure measurement
Consider the question of how to determine the pressure on the pulse, it is only necessary to exclude any initiative on the part of the patient, to demonstrate the inefficiency and destructiveness of this venture. In hypertensive patients, any deterioration in well-being should be accompanied by the determination of the exact numbers of blood pressure through precise equipment. It is impossible to judge in absentia the decrease or increase in pressure, justifying it with the simple phrase "I feel."
Only a reliable determination allows you to accurately judge the severity of deterioration of health, allows you to take adequate measures to stabilize the condition. And in this context, one cannot ask whether it is possible to determine the pressure by pulse without a tonometer. If a tonometer is available, then the numbers of blood pressure should be precisely determined. If he is not at hand, you must either ask the people around you or contact the emergency medical service. There are no grounds for other decisions in this situation.