Quote:
Originally Posted by vivaldirules
Relax! There can be a large variation in blood pressure. You probably want to wait until you have a few days of measurements before you decide to stroke out! But seriously, go read about it and cholesterol and such. I wish you the best, SS.
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Yes, and there's a thing called "white coat hypertension" where, because of anxiety, some people experience raised blood pressure at the very place they're getting it measured (the doctor's surgery).
For people who have a need/desire to monitor their blood pressure fairly regularly (eg. The Loved One), or people who experience "white coat hypertension", it's sometimes good to either buy a decent blood pressure monitor, or find a chemist that provides blood pressure checks gratis (as I read some do). We have our
own blood pressure monitor and have been trying to measure once-a-month (though we're trying to get to once-a-week). The doctor loves it because I print out The Loved One's data and graph it, and the doctor can see changes over shorter time periods than just the 6-monthly checkups.
We should also mention here the doctor's standard measuring equipment for blood pressure: the
sphygmomanometer. Not for any reason, but just because it's a really cool sounding word.
Sphygmomanometer. Sphygmomanometer. Cool, see? Sphygmomanometer.
Cheers,
Marc (try saying that three times fast)