What You Need to Know About Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the pressure of flowing blood against the walls of blood vessels.

Blood pressure is measured by wrapping the cuff of a sphygmomanometer around the upper limb during quiet hours, feeding air into the cuff with a rubber ball, and measuring the mercury height. Blood pressure can be measured in the sitting, recumbent and standing positions, but the cuff should be at the same height as the heart.

1.Maximum and minimum blood pressure: The driving force of blood pressure is the contractility of the heart. When the heart contracts, the amount of blood in the arteries increases and blood pressure rises.

In contrast, when the heart diastles, the amount of blood in the arteries decreases and blood pressure decreases. The former is called the highest blood pressure (systolic blood pressure) and the latter the lowest (diastolic blood pressure).

The difference between the highest and lowest blood pressure is called pulse pressure difference. Maximum and minimum blood pressure can occur with each pulse beat.

2. Normal blood pressure: The maximum normal blood pressure for a 20-year-old man is 16.4 kpa (123 mm Hg) and 15.7 kpa (118.7 mm Hg) for a woman.

The minimum blood pressure was 9.7 kpa (73.8 mm Hg) for men and 9.6 kpa (72.1 mm Hg) for women.

Before the age of 30, it is similar to the above values.

After age 40, however, it is difficult to determine normal blood pressure in a strict sense, because of the added effect of aging.

High blood pressure, as it is commonly known, is measured repeatedly with high pressure always above 20 kpa (150 mm Hg) and low pressure always above 12 kpa (90 mm Hg).

For people over 60, however, a high of 21.3 kpa (160 mm Hg) is normal (as defined by the World Health Organization).

3. Changes in blood pressure: Blood pressure is not always constant and can change with various body conditions.

(1) Temperature and blood pressure: temperature has a significant effect on blood pressure. Blood pressure of hypertensive patients is generally lower in summer and higher in winter. And is closely related to daily temperature changes.

(2) Exercise and blood pressure: Exercise also has a great impact on blood pressure. Generally speaking, blood pressure can rise when blood flow increases. During light exercise, blood pressure does not rise because the dilation of peripheral blood vessels reduces the resistance of blood flow. However, during intense exercise, blood pressure can rise due to the increased amount of blood pressure from the heart.

(3) Mental state and blood pressure: anger, worry, distress, frightened and other emotional central excitement can make blood pressure rise, but its rise varies from person to person.