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8.
Some Useful Information about Blood Pressure
What is Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood flowing against the walls of the arteries. Arterial blood
pressure is constantly changing during the course of the heart’s cycle.
The highest pressure in the cycle is called the
Systolic Blood Pressure
; the lowest is the
Diastolic Blood
Pressure
. Both pressures, the
Systolic
and
Diastolic
, are necessary to enable a physician to evaluate
the status of a patient’s blood pressure.
What is Arrhythmia?
Arrhythmia is a condition where the heartbeat rhythm is abnormal due to flaws in the bio-electrical system
that drives the heartbeat. Typical symptoms are skipped heartbeats, premature contraction, an
abnormally rapid (tachycardia) or slow (bradycardia) pulse.
Why is it a Good Thing to measure Blood Pressure at Home?
Many factors such as physical activity, anxiety, or the time of
day, can influence your blood pressure. A single
measurement may not be sufficient for an accurate
diagnosis. Thus it is best to try and measure your blood
pressure at the same time each day, to get an accurate
indication of any changes in blood pressure. Blood pressure
is typically low in the morning and increases from afternoon
to evening. It is lower in the summer and higher in the winter.
Example: fluctuation within a day (male, 35 years old)
mmHg
200
150
100
50
6
12
18
24
Upper curve: systolic blood pressure
Lower curve: diastolic blood pressure
Time of day
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