Measuring blood pressure
Accurate blood pressure measurement is important for diagnosis.
Raised blood pressure is a symptomless condition that, if left untreated, contributes to substantial risk of heart disease and stroke.
Clinical trials of blood pressure lowering drugs have shown that reducing blood pressure the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Blood pressure can be measured in several ways: by means of an electronic, mercury or aneroid sphygmomanometer.
Electronic monitors are being increasingly used in GP’s surgeries.
Provided that machine is selected that has been shown to be accurate and reliable, electronic monitoring offers several advantages over the older mercury sphygmomanometers.
Aneroid sphygmomanometers are unreliable and ar not recommended.
Measuring blood pressure
