EN-48
EN-49
En
gli
sh
En
gli
sh
What you should know about blood pressure
D
Operating the unit
C
To delete the entire memory, retrieve the respective average value
(AVG), press the Memory button again and hold down until the average
value firstly flashes and is then replaced with dashes (Figure 3).
1. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure values
2. Why you measure different values
3. Why you should measure blood pressure regularly
The cardiovascular system has the important function of supplying all
organs and tissues in the body with sufficient amounts of blood and of
transporting metabolites. To do so, the heart contracts and expands
at a regular rate of about 60 to 80 times per minute. The pressure of
the flowing blood on the artery walls caused by the heart contracting
is termed systolic. The pressure in the ensuing relaxation phase, when
the heart refills with blood, is termed diastolic. During daily measure-
ment you determine both values.
Our blood pressure responds to internal and external influences like a
sensitive measuring instrument. Affected by mental, physical and envi-
ronmental influences, it varies all the time and never remains constant.
Reasons for fluctuating blood pressure values can be: moving, speaking,
eating, consuming alcohol or nicotine, nervousness, inner tension, emo-
tions, room temperature, recent urination or bowel movements, envi-
ronmental influences such as movements and sounds, etc. Even chang-
es 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.
One-off and irregular measurements therefore say little about your
actual blood pressure. A reliable assessment is possible only when
measurements are taken regularly. Discuss the measurement values
with your doctor.