Blood Pressure Equipment

If you have high blood pressure then it is very important that you keep an open eye on what level your blood pressure is at all times. Your doctor will tell you what level you should look out for and where exactly you should be sitting at. It’s a good idea to be perfectly accurate as if you are not you may be jeopardizing your life.

If you are unsure as to whether you have high blood pressure or not, go see a doctor to make sure that you are in healthy condition.

Two devices that you will need to be familiar with are the Sphygmomanometer and a Cuff. Both of these two pieces of equipment are used to keep track of your blood pressure. You need to learn how to use them very well.



Blood pressure measuring equipment usually comes in ether automatic fashion or manual. Automatic pieces of equipment are both easier to use and read but they are often more costly. You can just use manual equipment though, they both work good ether way. Alongside both of these you can also use Aneroid and I will explain what this is exactly later on.

Along with different types of blood pressure equipment there is also something else you should be aware of and that is that most of these pieces of equipment contain levels of mercury in them. This can be good and bad. Here is a little list of the advantages and disadvantages of these types of equipment.

Mercury

Mercury is the most common type of blood pressure measuring equipment. It’s fairly straight forward and does not require much effort to use. It is by far the easiest piece of equipment to use for measuring the blood pressure of someone.

The mercury sphygmomanometer works with gravity in order to give you an accurate reading on blood pressure. Although mercury machines are easy and work the best, they are usually not used at home. They are more commonly found in hospitals and other health facilities. You can still however find some models that are designed for home use but you can expect these to be a little more expensive then others.

One of these will most likely last you forever and you will never need to buy a new one again. This is a huge advantage about these types but there are also many disadvantages.

One disadvantage right off the bat is that Mercury blood pressure monitor machines tend to be a little bit on the bigger side. This can be offset with the fact that they are really durable though. You must also use it on a flat surface in order to get an accurate reading.
One last disadvantage is that you will need to be able to squeeze the cuff in order to get an accurate reading. If you have a disability you may have a problem using this kind of equipment.


Aneroid

This type of equipment is very light and on the cheaper side. It’s much easier to carry around then Mercury so that makes it much more portable then other types of blood pressure measuring equipment. Another advantage that Aneroid has is that you don’t have to be in a certain position to read it. As long as you can see the numbers you will get a fairly accurate reading.

These types of monitors for blood pressure are very accurate and work the best.

The disadvantages though are that they can be broken very easily. You will need to take much more care of these machines. A problem though is that they need to be checked yearly and if you happen to bump it or drop it, you will need to get it checked again. These machines are very delicate as opposed to Mercury monitors.

Just like the Mercury, if you are visually impaired or if you have trouble hearing you may have trouble with these kinds of devices.

Automatic

Automatic monitors are more compact and everything is all contained in one unit. This is helpful as it will be much easier to handle and take care of. Out of all the blood pressure monitoring pieces of equipment out there, this one is by far the easiest for anyone to use.

It is recommended that if you have a disability you use an Automatic Monitor as it will make it much easier on yourself.

This one is the most sensitive out of the bunch so you need to take extra care of it. Automatics can also be very expensive and if you can’t afford to buy one you may be in trouble. You need to be very careful when placing and using this one as it will give you inaccurate readings if you do not do it correctly.

Although there are many different kinds of equipment that can be used for measuring blood pressure, these are the most popular types you will find.

If you require more information on each type, look around on this website or go see your local doctor to find more information about high blood pressure.