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What you should know about blood pressure
What you should know about blood pressure
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The circulatory system has the important task of supplying all organs
and tissues in the body with sufficient blood, and of removing metab-
olites. The heart does this by contracting and expanding at a regular
rhythm of around 60-80 times per minute. The pressure created by the
blood flow on the artery walls when your heart contracts is referred
to as systole. The pressure in the subsequent relaxation phase when
the heart fills with blood again is referred to as diastole. In your daily
measurement, you will measure both values.
Our blood pressure responds to internal and external influences like
a sensitive measuring instrument. Affected by mental, physical and
environmental influences, it varies all the time and never remains con-
stant.
Reasons for fluctuating blood pressure values can be: moving, speak-
ing, eating, consuming alcohol or nicotine, nervousness, inner tension,
emotions, room temperature, recent urination or bowel movements,
environmental influences such as movements and sounds, etc. Even
changes in the weather and climate can have an effect on your blood
pressure.
This explains why values measured at the doctor are often higher than
those you obtain at home in your usual environment.
Even the time of day has an effect on your blood pressure. The values
are at their highest during the day. In the course of the afternoon and
in the evening, they drop slightly. They are low while you are sleeping,
but rise again relatively quickly once you get up.
1. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure value
2. Why you measure different values
3. Why should you measure blood pressure regularly?
One-off and irregular measurements therefore say little about your
actual blood pressure. A reliable assessment is only possible when
measurements are taken regularly. Discuss the measured values with
your doctor.
