The blood pressure level is very important in diagnosing hypertension. The type of treatment is also decided according to the level of blood pressure. Therefore, it is very important to measure the blood pressure correctly. The correct measurement of the blood pressure depends on correct selection of blood pressure cuff, the position of the cuff and the patient and the psychological state of the patient.
The blood pressure of person is determined by the cardiac output and the peripheral resistant. The cardiac out put is determined by the heart rate and the end-diostolic volume. When a person is anxious, his sympathetic nervous system gets activated. The sympathetic output increases the person's heart rate. It also causes constriction of blood vessels. As a result the blood pressure increases.
Some people feel anxious when they are with a doctor. As a result his blood pressure rises. This is called white coat hypertension. If a person with white coat hypertension is diagnosed as a hypertensive person, he will have to spend the rest of their lives taking unnecessary drugs. Prevention of this from happening is very important. This is where the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring comes into play.
In ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, a device is attached to the patient and the blood pressure is continuously monitored. If the reports show that the person's blood pressure is high only when he is around, it is white coat hypertension, so it doesn't need any treatment.
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring can also detect the absence of diurnal variation of the blood pressure. It is a feature of severe hypertension.
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