Electronic sphygmomanometer or mercury sphygmomanometer? Hypertensive patients should pay attention to the following four points when monitoring blood pressure at home!

Author: Zhao Lixin, Chief Nurse, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University

Reviewer: Zhang Yu, researcher at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

We often compare high blood pressure to an invisible killer. Why is it called an invisible killer? Because in the early stage, there are no symptoms and no feeling, but blood pressure has already begun to change. Small arteries will spasm and gradually develop into hardening. The endothelium of medium and large arteries will begin to change, forming atherosclerotic plaques and even thrombi.

If you don't discover the symptoms until they are very obvious and take medicine to control them, in fact many organs have already been damaged. Therefore, you should monitor your blood pressure regularly and detect hypertension at an early stage.

Patients who have been diagnosed with hypertension need to control their hypertension in the long term, including diet, exercise, medication, etc.

Whether you are a high-risk group for hypertension or a patient with hypertension, you need to monitor your blood pressure regularly. For patients with hypertension, regular monitoring of blood pressure is especially important.

Let’s talk about some precautions for hypertensive patients to monitor their blood pressure at home.

1. When is the best time of the day for patients with hypertension to measure blood pressure?

Most people's blood pressure is higher between 6:00-10:00 in the morning and 4:00-8:00 in the afternoon. It is generally recommended to measure blood pressure in the early morning when waking up or two hours after taking antihypertensive drugs.

Figure 1 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

At the same time, it is recommended to choose one day within 1-2 weeks to focus on monitoring blood pressure. Measurements can be made in four time periods: in the morning, 2 hours after taking medication, between 4:00-8:00 pm, and before going to bed. This will help you understand the changing trend of blood pressure within a day and the effectiveness of medication.

Here we would like to remind everyone that when measuring blood pressure in the early morning after waking up, it is not necessary to empty your bowels and bladder before measuring. After getting up, some patients may experience postural hypotension due to changes in body position or after defecation, which may affect the measured blood pressure value.

There is no need to measure blood pressure repeatedly throughout the day, as this will cause anxiety and the measured blood pressure values ​​will be higher each time, which is not conducive to the control of high blood pressure.

2. What is the appropriate range for blood pressure control in patients with hypertension?

For most patients with hypertension, blood pressure should be controlled below 140/90 mmHg. However, for the elderly, blood pressure should be lowered steadily while ensuring that important organs can receive effective blood supply.

The blood pressure of the elderly can be reduced to 150/90mmHg or 140/90mmHg, or below, but the diastolic pressure should not be lower than 70mmHg, especially not lower than 55mmHg, because this will affect blood supply to the brain.

3. Is it better to use an electronic sphygmomanometer or a mercury sphygmomanometer to measure blood pressure?

When measuring blood pressure at home, it is recommended to use an electronic sphygmomanometer, because it is not only easy to carry, but also easy to operate and does not require professional training. The mercury in the mercury sphygmomanometer pollutes the environment, and the mercury sphygmomanometer has certain professional requirements for the operator, and the operation is relatively complicated.

Figure 2 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

How to choose an electronic blood pressure monitor?

To correctly choose a home electronic blood pressure monitor, you need to do three things: first, check whether the electronic blood pressure monitor has a medical device registration number; second, check whether the registration number can be found on the website of the Food and Drug Administration; third, check whether it meets the relevant standards and quality safety guarantees.

There are two types of electronic blood pressure monitors: upper arm type and wrist type. Which one is more accurate?

An upper arm blood pressure monitor is more accurate than a wrist blood pressure monitor because the blood pressure value of the upper arm blood pressure monitor comes from the blood pressure of the brachial artery, while the wrist blood pressure monitor measures the pressure difference of the pulse, so the value is not accurate enough. Moreover, the farther away from the heart, the greater the difference in the measured blood pressure value. Therefore, it is recommended to use an upper arm blood pressure monitor.

It should be noted that the electronic blood pressure monitor needs to be calibrated after six months or a year of use.

The initial and regular calibration of the blood pressure monitor can be done at the store where you purchased it or by finding a monitoring department online. You can also buy an electronic blood pressure monitor and compare it with the hospital's blood pressure monitor when you visit the hospital, because the hospital's blood pressure monitors are regularly tested and calibrated and are more accurate, so you can calibrate it with the hospital's blood pressure monitor.

If the blood pressure monitor you buy is calibrated and the measurement difference is within 10 mmHg, it can be used safely.

In addition to electronic blood pressure monitors, it is now very popular to use smart bracelets to measure blood pressure and heart rate. Are smart bracelets accurate in measuring blood pressure?

4. Can patients with hypertension use smart bracelets to measure blood pressure? Is it accurate?

Measuring blood pressure with a smart bracelet is inaccurate because the blood pressure value it measures is calculated through a calculation formula. With current technology and level, it is not possible to accurately measure blood pressure values.

Figure 3 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Smart bracelets can be used as a reference during exercise or life, but in treatment, the blood pressure values ​​measured in the hospital or by an electronic blood pressure monitor should still be used as a reference.

Hypertension is a chronic disease that requires long-term control. You can keep your blood pressure stable by paying attention to diet, exercise, taking medications on time, and monitoring your blood pressure regularly. If you monitor your blood pressure at home and find any abnormalities, go to the hospital in time to see if you need to adjust your medication or change your treatment plan to avoid complications.