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Blood pressure is one of the primary measures that doctors and other health professionals take in order to gauge and assess the most essential functions of the body. It is the measure of the amount of force exerted on the blood vessels while blood is pumped and circulated in them. There is a varied blood pressure exerted for every heartbeat.
The maximum is called the “systolic” pressure while the minimum is called the “diastolic” pressure. Blood pressure and body temperature, along with the rate of respiration and pulse rate, are considered to be the major vital signs of the body. All four of them are regularly monitored and checked by doctors and medical practitioners.
The maximum or “systolic” blood pressure of a patient takes place at the conclusion of the cardiac cycle. This is the time when the ventricles of the heart are constricting. The minimum or “diastolic” blood pressure on the other hand, takes place at the commencement of the cardiac cycle. This is the time when the ventricles are full of blood.
Blood pressure is at its lowest levels in areas of the body with the smallest arteries and in parts that are farther from the heart, where the blood is originally pumped out. Blood pressure in different parts of the body is also affected by gravity, the blood’s resistance to flow in the veins and the arteries, and the contraction of body muscles.
Blood pressure is often measured and taken from the upper arm of a patient, where the brachial artery is located in an area on the inner side of the elbow. The brachial artery is the chief blood vessel of the arm that transports blood from the heart. The blood pressure of a patient is usually expressed in a form signifying the maximum and the minimum pressures and therefore uses the unit mmHg. For example, the blood pressure of a patient with a systolic pressure of 120 and a diastolic pressure of 80 would be expressed as 120/80 mmHg.
To measure the blood pressure of a patient, doctors and other medical professional usually use a tool called the sphygmomanometer. This is a tool that was developed to gauge a patient’s blood pressure by manifesting it in a tube of mercury. The height that the mercury reaches inside the tube is the determined blood pressure. Since the height is measured in millimeters, the unit of blood pressure became millimeters of mercury.
The blood pressure of a person is never constant. It does not stay the same throughout the course of one day. In fact, it even undergoes normal discrepancy with each and every heartbeat. Blood pressure also changes in response to different situations that the body may encounter. Physical and emotional stress, meals and diet, medication, and even exercise all have an impact on the blood pressure of a person.
When the blood pressure of a person is irregularly high, it is often referred to as hypertension. When the blood pressure is irregularly low on the other hand, it is referred to as hypotension.
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