How to measure blood pressure without a blood pressure monitor

Any person sooner or later comes a moment when he begins to think about his health. Blood pressure in this case is one of the most important indicators contributing to the rapid detection of almost all diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to measure it from time to time, especially if there is a tendency to hypertension or hypotension.

Blood pressure is not a constant value. It changes with each beat of the heart, and therefore often indicators differ from each other. In addition, the psychological state of a person, weather conditions and even the time of the year affect pressure. This must be taken into account when measuring.

Many people notice that even when measuring pressure on both hands, the numbers will be different. The fact is that the heart is a little to the left, and not in the center. And therefore, the tonometer on the left hand will always be slightly higher than on the right hand. Because of this, it is better to measure it on only one hand.

Indicator values

Not everyone understands what exactly the indicators of blood pressure on the tonometer indicate. Upper systolic pressure is the pressure in the vessels as the heart ventricle contracts and blood is expelled. The norm is considered a figure in the range of 110-140 mm. Hg. Art. Lower systolic pressure - pressure in the vessels when filling the ventricle with blood. The norm is 80–90 mm. Hg. Art. Any deviations from these indicators indicate a serious decrease or increase in pressure.

Objective criteria

There are signs that make it easy to determine a person’s high blood pressure. Among such objective signs are complexion, physique, eye color and pulse. If a person has a very red face, while the color changes for no particular reason and for a long time, then this may indicate an increase in blood pressure. A vascular network may also appear on the skin.

A large belly is not always the result of an improper lifestyle. Often this symptom indicates pressure problems. The whites of the eyes with hypertension usually turn red. As for the pulse, it does not disappear at high pressure, even if you press the artery very hard. But if at the same time it instantly stops being probed, it means that the face has low pressure.

Subjective criteria

If these symptoms constantly appear, you must urgently seek medical help. You also need to measure blood pressure as often as possible. These include poor health, which often manifests itself as follows:

• nausea and vomiting;
• dizziness;
• black "flies" and circles before the eyes;
• suffocation;
• headache in temples and nape;
• discomfort and pain in the heart.

How often do you need to measure pressure

If there are no health problems and nothing bothers, then you do not need to regularly measure pressure. Another thing is when blood pressure is unstable, and well-being worsens. It is especially important to monitor these indicators for pregnant women and people of age.

When there are serious problems with blood pressure, then you need to measure it twice a day. In the morning it is measured immediately after waking up. When taking medications to normalize pressure, you need to measure it several hours after the medicine was taken. In order to track changes in pressure, the time and indicators of the apparatus should be recorded.

In order for the indicators to be correct, it is necessary to exclude those factors that may affect this.Therefore, a few hours before the measurement, you can not smoke, drink coffee and alcohol. If you recently had a meal, it is better to wait about an hour and only then proceed to measure the pressure.

Nuances to be aware of when measuring pressure

• pressure changes easily when a person is under stress;
• it rises if a person wants to sleep, suffers from constipation or after physical exertion;
• Also, pressure can increase with cold air temperature;
• smoking affects the pressure, so you should not measure it immediately after a smoke break;
• it is important to ensure that breathing is even and deep when measuring pressure;
• you can not measure blood pressure without interruption for a long time;
• also indicators can be affected by body position when a person sits cross-legged or bends his back at a low table;
• indicators during pressure measurement in a sitting or lying position can vary greatly.

How to measure pressure if there is no tonometer

Of course, it is much easier to control your pressure with this device. But there are cases when a tonometer is not at hand, and blood pressure must be checked very urgently. For this, ordinary objects can be useful - a ruler and a nut. By the way, the nut can be easily replaced with a ring, needle or paper clip.

You can take any line, nothing depends on it. But it should be large, up to 20-30 cm. It must be put on the arm so that the division begins at the bend of the elbow. It would be better if it was a left hand. Clothing does not interfere with measuring pressure in this way.

Next, in your right hand you need to take a nut or ring, previously tied to a rope. The length of the rope should be between 15–20 cm. It is entered above the ruler at the very beginning of the divisions and slowly move it along the ruler to the wrist. In this case, you can not touch either the ruler or the hand.

Also, in no case should you be distracted, talk, etc. As soon as the object above the ruler begins to swing from side to side, it means that the upper pressure has been determined. For example, if the nut indicates the number 10, then the upper blood pressure is 100 mm. Hg. Art.

Now you need to measure the lower pressure. To do this, you need to do the same thing only by rearranging the ruler with the beginning to the wrist. And you need to start checking the pressure from the wrist as well, slowly heading towards the bend of the elbow. When the nut is pumping, you need to look at the number. This will be the lower pressure.

You can measure the pressure yourself by heart rate. This practice is very common and is often used by doctors when there is no time to measure pressure with a tonometer. If you learn to determine it by this method, then you can completely do without apparatuses and other devices. The main thing is to have a watch at hand, since you have to time it.

So, first you need to sit as comfortable as possible. Then put a clock in front of you on the table and just sit for a few minutes, trying to calm down. Then you can begin to check the pulse on the wrist. It is necessary to try to calculate the number of strokes as accurately as possible in 30 seconds. This number is multiplied by 2. Under normal blood pressure, the indicators will lie within 60–80 strokes. If this number is 60 or slightly less, then the pressure is low. Conversely, a pulse of more than 80 beats per minute indicates high pressure.

How to quickly lower or increase pressure

If, when measuring pressure, it turned out that the indicators are too high or too low, then it is necessary to normalize the pressure. When it is very high, use one of the following methods:

• drink strong black tea with lemon or cranberry juice;
• make compresses from ordinary table vinegar and put them on your feet;
• with a swab dipped in vinegar, you can also wipe the whiskey and the back of the head, but this should not be done for long;
• use mustard plasters by placing them on the shoulders or on the calf muscles;
• perfectly reduce the pressure of tincture of hawthorn and valerian;
• drink a special medicine to relieve pressure, for example, Nifedipine or Furosemide.

In the case when the pressure, on the contrary, is too low, it is urgent to raise these indicators and improve well-being. To do this, you need:

• put a pinch of salt on the tongue and allow it to dissolve;
• eat a slice of bread with honey and cinnamon;
• drink tincture of ginseng or eleutherococcus;
• take a contrast shower;
• use a medicine, such as Dobutamine or Norepinephrine.

Doctors question most popular methods of measuring pressure. But on the other hand, tonometers also did not always exist. This means that our ancestors were able to figure out blood pressure indicators on their own. Therefore, in order to dissipate all doubts, you can measure it in several ways at once and compare the results.

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