RUTH-BREAKING SERIES | From which arm should blood pressure be measured?

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Your body may appear symmetrical, but if you look a little closer, you may notice that one eye may be slightly lower than the other, or that one hand may be slightly larger. Just like the outside of your body, most of your organs, including blood vessels, are asymmetrical. As a result, blood pressure may differ between your right and left arm.

High blood pressureOne of the most important factors triggering heart attack and stroke. A study by the University of Exeter of more than 50,000 adults analyzed the difference between taking blood pressure readings in both arms and taking just one arm. As a result, 12 percent of the patients who were all right in the single-arm measurements were classified as high blood pressure after the double-arm measurement.

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The study’s principal investigator, Dr. Christopher Clark said: “High blood pressure is a global problem and its mismanagement can have deadly consequences. Accurately detecting high blood pressure is a vital step towards giving the right people the appropriate treatment.”

Hypertension is the leading chronic disease in the world and affects the whole body from head to toe. While the rate of incidence in the general population is 30 percent, one out of every two people over the age of 50 has hypertension.

ONE OF EVERY THREE PEOPLE IS Unaware of Their Disease

Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Ahmet Karabulut Stating that the diagnosis of hypertension is made with the correct measurement, “If you do not measure blood pressure, hypertension existence can easily be overlooked. Nearly one out of every three people continues to live with high blood pressure, unaware of hypertension.” He explained how to measure correctly:

“First of all, it should be done at rest and in a sitting position. Before the measurement, smoking, alcohol, food and stimulant medication should not be taken. Measurements should be repeated with an interval of 5 minutes, but if there is much difference between the two measurements in people with arrhythmias, the third measurement should be made.

RUTH-BREAKING SERIES |  From which arm should blood pressure be measured?

Failure to measure in both arms leads not only to poor diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure, but also to an underestimation of risks for millions of people worldwide. It is also impossible to predict the best arm to measure. because some people have a higher value on their left arm than their right arm, while others have the opposite.. Therefore, it is important to control both arms.

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FIRST MEASUREMENTS MUST BE MADE ON BOTH ARMS

Blood pressure describes the force of your blood pushing against the sides of your arteries and is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The systolic number, which is written above, reflects the pressure exerted on the vessel wall by the blood rushing towards the vessels when the heart contracts. Diastolic pressure refers to the pressure still present in the vessel wall when the heart relaxes.

If both numbers are too high, this can put pressure on the arteries and major organs.

Karabulut, who said that the left arm is preferred because it is close to the heart in blood pressure measurement, underlined that this is not the right choice.

“In the first measurement, blood pressure should be measured from both arms. There may be pressure differences of up to 20 mmHg between the arms. This is usually related to vascular resistance. However A blood pressure difference of more than 20 mmHg should suggest vascular occlusion in the arm with low blood pressure. Therefore, the first measurements should be made on both arms and the measurements should be continued on the arm with the higher measurement in the follow-up measurements.. Follow-up on the arm from which the measurement was taken earlier leads to the missed hypertension disease.”

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THE MURDER THAT GREAT BLOOD PRESSURE EFFECTS THE HEART SHOULD BE IGNORED

Reminding that automatic machines are frequently used in blood pressure measurements, Karabulut said, “Among these, those who measure from the arm should be preferred. These devices display systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate during measurement. Taking into account the high systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the measurements, The rumor that ‘low blood pressure affects the heart more’ should not be taken into account. Both high and low blood pressure should be treated. If high values ​​are detected in repetitive measurements, sharing the values ​​with a physician will be an important step for the diagnosis of hypertension.

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RUTH-BREAKING SERIES |  From which arm should blood pressure be measured?

Graphic: Harun Elibol

THE DIFFERENCE IN THE MEASUREMENTS MAY BE CAUSED BY HAND

In a statement at the University of Exeter, Clark and his team discovered that there was an average difference in systolic pressure of 6.6 mmHg between the arms.

Considering both measurements, approximately 6,500 participants fell into the hypertension category by measuring above the limit of 140 mmHg.

Cardiology Specialist Dr. Nuri Comertexplained the difference in measurement between the two arms and what it might indicate:

Most of the time, depending on the vascular anatomy of the person and if one hand is used predominantly, there may be a blood pressure difference between the arms normally.. At the same time, this difference health It can also be the first sign of problems. These;

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— Narrowing or blockage in the blood vessel that feeds your arms

— Aortic vasodilation or rupture

— Diabetes-related vascular diseases

— Kidney diseases

— It may be one of the congenital vascular problems.

EVEN IF THERE IS NO DISEASE, TENSION MEASUREMENT MUST BE DONE

Expressing that uncontrolled high blood pressure causes damage to the brain, eyes, heart, vessels and kidneys, Karabulut said, “It is possible to catch hypertension before any damage occurs in the early period with regular blood pressure measurement. Those who do not have any disease should have their blood pressure measured 2 or 3 times a year, and those with hypertension should have their blood pressure measured 2 or 3 times a week. Of course, making these measurements correctly will protect us from the harmful effects of hypertension.”

Emphasizing that the goal in the treatment of hypertension is to reduce blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg, Cömert said that “lower blood pressure values ​​are targeted in patients with diabetes, kidney failure and organ damage.”

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