From this article you will learn: how to measure pressure without a tonometer, whether you can trust the results of such measurements, get acquainted with detailed instructions of the basic methods of determination.
Contents of the article:
- How to determine the pressure on complaints and symptoms
- Determination of pressure by pulse
- Quantitative measurement of pressure with pendulum and
ruler Blood pressure measurements were carried out even before the invention of a tonometer. People have come up with simple ways to determine the degree of vascular tension in the body. Their results indirectly, but fairly accurately reflected changes in those indicators, the significance of which was learned only after the discovery of tonometry.
Despite the existence of modern techniques that allow you to accurately measure blood pressure, interest in primary non-instrumental methods is not lost.
The basic ways to know the level of pressure are given in the table, and in the article they are described in detail.
| Qualitative methods - they can only be inferred: high, normal or low pressure( without specifying digits) | Quantitative methods - show figures that correspond to the level of arterial pressure |
|---|---|
| For complaints and symptoms | Using the pendulum and the |
| ruler By the nature of the pulse |
How to determine the pressure of
for complaints and symptoms The most elementary tonometry by a qualitative method is the features of the available complaints. The desire to measure blood pressure( BP) mainly occurs in people who have some deviations in the body, which can not be associated with anything( incomprehensible weakness, headache, nausea, etc.).Such a desire in healthy people occurs rarely. Since 70-85% of complaints and symptoms conceal a change in pressure, by their nature, it is possible to determine, indirectly( preliminary), whether it is increased or decreased.
The table describes typical symptoms for hypotension and hypertension:
| The pathological symptom of | AD increased | AD lowered |
|---|---|---|
| Headache | Throbbing, pressing in the temporal region | Aching, pressing in the occipital region |
| Dizziness | Not always | Strong |
| Severe weakness | NotCharacteristic | Characteristic symptom |
| Voltage, trembling | It happens almost always | Not typical |
| Face skin color | Red or unchanged | Pale |
| Excitation, Anxiety | characteristic feature | extremely rare |
| Drowsiness | Rarely | Almost always |
| Heartbeat | Strong | weak |
| Nosebleeds | If a strong increase | No |
| Nausea, vomiting | Repeated | Single |
There are also additional features that can be observed both in hypertension, and at a hypotension. They are capable of misleading and can not be a criterion even for an approximate determination of pressure:
- Pressing pain in the chest.
- Shortness of breath or feeling short of breath.
- Darkening in the eyes.
- Loss of consciousness.
Even an experienced expert in symptoms and complaints will be able to judge correctly the level of blood pressure in only 60-70% of cases - only to determine whether it is increased or decreased.
Determination of the pulse pressure
The condition of the circulatory system is represented by two main indicators: pulse and blood pressure( BP).They are interrelated, and this means that the characteristics of one of them can determine the characteristics of the second. More informative in this respect are the characteristics of the pulse.
It is impossible to accurately establish the level of pressure on the pulse, but indirectly( tentatively) to judge this by everyone. The table describes the main characteristics of the pulse, which you need to pay attention to.
| Pulse characteristics | AD low | AD high |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency per minute | Rare - about 50-60, can be normal( 60-90), frequent only with severe blood loss | More often accelerated( more than 90), less often normal( 60-90), rare happens only with cerebral hemorrhages |
| Pulse strength | Disappears with slight pressure on the artery( on the arm, on the neck) | Does not disappear despite strong pressure |
| Pulse voltage | Soft, not stressed | Hard, tight |
any arteries toIt is more convenient to feel with your fingers. These can be:
- vessels on the anterolateral surface of the neck just below the angle of the jaw;
- the outer edge of the flexion surface of the lower third of the forearm is closer to the outer edge just above the wrist( radial artery);
- inner part of the ulnar fold;
- inguinal area( femoral artery).
If you do not know what a normal pulse should be, compare its character to any healthy person or to yourself with the patient's pulse!
Quantitative pressure measurement with pendulum and
ruler The only way to measure pressure figures without a tonometer is to use a pendulum with a ruler. The effectiveness of this method leaves doubts, because there is no official study that would confidently confirm its reliability. This means that there is no scientific justification for the methodology. It rather refers to the field of extrasensory and bioenergetics.
Nevertheless, its great popularity suggests the opposite - created a lot of amateur evidence: confirming video and textual facts. Therefore, believe or not believe the indicators of pressure, if you measure them with a pendulum and ruler, everyone should decide for themselves.
Technique and sequence of actions for measuring
All that is needed for the quantitative measurement of pressure without a tonometer:
- Pendulum made from improvised means:
- thread or thin cord about 20 cm long;
- load that will need to be suspended on a string - this can be a ring( gold, copper or other metal), a wire bent into a ring, a clip, a pin, a nut. But you can also use a needle and any other small object;
- Ruler made from any material( 20-30 cm) or centimeter tape.
Step-by-step instruction procedure:
- Construct a pendulum - tie the existing load( for example, a ring or nut) to the end of the thread. The second end of the thread must be free.
- Sit down( if the measurement is conducted by yourself), seat or place the person being examined.
- Place the forearm of the subject on a rigid, fixed surface with a flexor surface upward. It is better to define on the left hand, but it is possible and on the right.
- Place the ruler at the beginning of the scale in the elbow bend. You can also mark on the skin of the forearm marks one or several centimeters.
- Take the free end of the thread with the attached weight and hang it above the elbow of the forearm at the beginning of the measuring scale of the ruler so that the pendulum does not touch the skin but is as close to it as possible and can perform oscillatory movements.
- Try to keep the pendulum motionless, wait a few seconds and start slowly moving it parallel to the surface of the forearm toward the brush.
- During the advancement of the pendulum, it can perform various chaotic movements. But at a certain distance there will be clear uniform swaying in the transverse direction with respect to the axis of the forearm and ruler.
- Mark this point - on how many centimeters began to oscillate. This figure, multiplied by 10, corresponds to the systolic( upper pressure).
- Move the ruler to the beginning of the scale to the first transverse fold of the skin located just above the brush.
- With your right hand, hang the pendulum over the beginning of the ruler, slowly move it towards the ulnar fovea along the ruler( forearm).
- Notice how many centimeters the pendulum will begin to oscillate uniformly in the transverse direction. This figure, multiplied by 10, corresponds to diastolic( lower pressure).
This completes the measurement procedure. For certainty, you can repeat it again.
No conscientious physician advises anyone to measure pressure without a tonometer. Such an action, if justified, then in exceptional situations, when there is no way to know the indicators in the traditional way - when it is necessary to make a decision in principle, on which human life depends. In all other cases, you can, of course, be guided by any data, but be sure to confirm them by measuring the pressure with a mechanical or electronic tonometer.
This is especially true for people with chronic cardiovascular diseases, suffering from pressure changes, hypertension, a heart attack and stroke. After all, the tonometer is not such an expensive thing, because of the refusal of its acquisition to jeopardize its health and life.
