With many types of diseases of the heart and circulatory system, a person has to measure blood pressure quite often. You need to do this often, getting the most accurate indicators. To obtain such a timely diagnosis, a device called a tonometer was created. Knowing what the tonometer does and how to use it correctly, you can notice the pressure deviation from the norm in time and consult a doctor in a timely manner.
What is a tonometer
This word means a special device designed to measure blood pressure in humans. Regardless of its type, this device consists of a cuff and a scale. In modern automatic and semi-automatic versions, the scale is replaced by a display. An additional element that distinguishes mechanical and semi-automatic devices is the presence of a pear.
Measurement of blood pressure by a medical professional
From 1905 to the present day, many medical professionals have been using mechanical tonometerwhose operating principle was developed by the Russian surgeon Nikolai Sergeyevich Korotkov. Only 60 years later, in 1965, the American therapist Seymour London was able to transform the device for the better and develop an automatic analogue.
Tonometers: varieties and a description of what and how they do
To date, this device has undergone a lot of changes. All corrections and improvements were aimed at improving the apparatus, making it more convenient to use. It was also important to increase the accuracy of the readings, because only the correct readings of this device can take part in the diagnosis of a disease.
Mercury blood pressure monitor
The very first type of hand tonometer. A mercury tonometer consists of a cuff, a pear and a scale placed behind a column of mercury, which was located in a glass cylinder. It is the use of such an apparatus that has served to ensure that the level of blood pressure is still measured in millimeters of mercury.
Mercury blood pressure monitor
Mechanical blood pressure monitor
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A mechanical blood pressure monitor consists of a cuff, a pear and a scale. With a pear, the paramedic pumps pressure into the cuff, and then, bleeding pressure, listens to the stethoscope at what level heart beats appear and disappear. The indicator at which strokes began to be heard is systolic pressure, and the indicator at which the strokes disappeared is diastolic.
Mechanical blood pressure monitor
Such a device has a number of positive and negative sides.
Its advantages include:
- Low cost
- Durability
- Ability to apply at any time
The disadvantages of the device include:
- The difficulty of performing a self-test
- Before you start measuring, you need to learn this.
- Inability to measure in noisy places
- High probability of error associated with the human factor.
Blood pressure monitor
There is no pear in the electronic tonometer. Its main components are an electronic control unit with a display and a cuff. The air in the cuff in such a device pumps the compressor, which also controls the entire process of measuring pressure.
Automatic versions of the device can operate on mains, on batteries or on battery.The most common battery-powered options. However, it is worthwhile to understand that such devices will often have to be recharged, since they differ in considerable power consumption.
Automatic blood pressure monitor
The measurement of blood pressure is due to the fact that the pulsation of blood in the arteries is transmitted in the form of vibration to the cuff. The processor reads the level of this vibration and, on the basis of the input data, provides the final value needed for diagnostics.
These data are displayed in large numbers on the display of the device. In addition to numbers showing systolic and diastolic pressure, other icons are displayed on the screen of the device. Depending on the brand and model of the device, these icons may vary, but there is some basic list that is most common:
- Heart rate - shown in numbers
- Arrhythmia sensor - most often depicted as a heart
- Motion sensor - usually looks like a moving person
- World Health Organization scale indication
- Clock
- Battery indicator
- Hypertension sensor.
Icons on the instrument
Due to the presence of the processor and its constant development, medical engineers have the opportunity to add a few additional functions to the electronic tonometer.
- Memory. The user can memorize the readings of the device in order to then track the dynamics and provide the attending physician with a complete clinical picture.
- Ability to use several people. This is a modified memory function that allows you to record and track the dynamics of the indicators of several people, this option will be very convenient and beneficial for couples.
- Smart backlight display. This function allows you to not only have a good look at the data in the dark, but also to warn about critical indicators with the help of color. So, a display with a normal blood pressure level will be highlighted in green. In the event that the indicators deviate from the norm, the screen will be highlighted in yellow. Provided that the indicators are significantly higher or lower than normal, the monitor will turn red, and this is a signal that it is time to consult a doctor.
Smart Backlit Devices
Each manufacturer modifies the device in its own way, trying to make its use as comfortable as possible for the patient. For example, the manufacturer OMRON has developed the Intellisense function, in which the processor strictly controls the process of pumping air into the cuff, preventing the pull of the forearm and eliminating all kinds of painful conditions.
In any case, all the functions, indicators, icons and features of the signal system are described in the instruction manual of the device, which must be read before using it.
In general, the advantages of the automatic tonometer are not few:
- Ease of use
- Availability
- Ease of presentation and perception of information.
But he also has a couple of minuses:
- High price. The latest models of the device, equipped with a large number of options, can reach prices of 10,000 rubles or more.
- The need for power.
Semi-automatic blood pressure monitor
A semi-automatic blood pressure monitor is a cross between a mechanical and an automatic device. The similarity with a mechanical tonometer is that the user presses the compression in the cuff independently using a pear, and with the automatic one, that the data analyzed by the processor are displayed on an electronic display.
Semi-automatic blood pressure monitor
As is clear from the description, the semi-automatic blood pressure monitor consists of a pear, cuff and block with a microprocessor. Thanks to the processor semi-automatic tonometer, as well as automatic the device can give out various signals warning about the deviation of blood pressure from the norm or about an error in the measurement.
The semi-automatic blood pressure monitor has a number of positive characteristics compared to its counterparts:
- Low cost
- The ability to independently measure blood pressure
- Low power consumption
However, it has a significant minus: an inexperienced user can clumsily inject air into the cuff, which will lead to a deviation of the indicator from the actual by 10-15 mm RT.st.
Wrist blood pressure monitor
A wrist blood pressure monitor is a type of automatic blood pressure monitor. Its main difference from other models is that it is mounted not on the forearm, but on the wrist. It is worth remembering that the accuracy of the readings of such a device is 100% dependent on the correctness of its fastening, as well as on the location of the hand relative to the user's heart level.
Wrist blood pressure monitor
A wrist blood pressure monitor is a great option for mobile people with an active lifestyle. It allows you to quickly and easily measure pressure in any place convenient for the user, whether it is a gym, traffic jam or workplace.
Such an apparatus consists of two main elements: a cuff and a unit with a display and a microprocessor. The microprocessor allows you to analyze the data and output signals about certain states, if this is provided by the software and the design of the device.
Like any other type of blood pressure monitor, the device, mounted on the wrist, has several advantages and disadvantages. The positive aspects of the device include the following aspects of its operation:
- Mobility
- Ease
- Comfort for high blood pressure users
- Compact size
- Easy to use
- User self-diagnosis capability.
However, he also has its drawbacks:
- Need to recharge
- Inability to use by people with thinned vessels on the wrist
- The need for strict fixation of the hand in the position necessary for accurate measurements.
Ideal tonometer for home use
There is no ideal tonometer. More precisely, each tonometer is good for a specific user.
If the patient has experience in measuring pressure with a mechanical tonometer, the procedure does not leave him uncomfortable, and the data obtained are accurate and reliable, then this option is perfect for him. It will serve for a long time, not require charging and the constant purchase of consumables in the form of batteries. The simple design of the device will almost completely eliminate possible damage. The user will only have to carefully treat him and store in a safe place. Using a mechanical tonometer, the user will be able to receive timely health data, as well as a good save.
Self-diagnosis with a mechanical tonometer
The most convenient and informative option is an automatic device with an all-inclusive package. Such a device and pressure will independently and extremely accurately measure and signal in case of a threat to the patient’s health, and will summarize all the data for a certain measurement period by issuing statistics. However, it has a huge minus - the price. A device with such equipment costs about 10,000 rubles, which for many, especially for senior citizens, is too high a figure.
The optimal device in terms of price / quality ratio will be an automatic blood pressure monitor with arrhythmia function and the WHO scale. Such a device will cost around 2 -2.5 thousand rubles. He will be able to independently measure the pressure to the patient and inform about the dangerous condition. It will be enough for the user to just put on the cuff on the forearm and press the "Start" button.
Self-measurement of pressure by an automatic device
Mechanical, semi-automatic or automatic blood pressure monitor - it does not matter which option the user chooses. It is important that this device is in everyone’s house, especially if the family has people over 40 or people with a hereditary predisposition to heart disease. Having the device in the home medicine cabinet and knowing how to use the tonometer, the user will be able to prevent a heart attack and attacks of hypertension, as well as choose the right therapeutic measures together with the attending physician aimed at relieving symptoms and full recovery.
