Cardiology: blood pressure

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The presence and vital significance of the pulse in blood vessels has been known since antiquity, but the measurement of the pressure exerted by the flowing blood in the circulation due to cardiac contraction is relatively recent. For accurate and true values of arterial blood pressure, there is no real substitute for direct measurements, with the accuracy being determined by the physical characteristics of the sensor system. However, direct measurements can be done only in limited conditions in humans and animals, and indirect measurements are necessary for the majority of clinical assessments. A major hallmark of the noninvasive sphygmomanometric measurement of arterial blood pressure is that it has undergone little change, since the cuff technique was proposed as the means of obtaining quantifiable values of arterial blood pressure and has been the main instrument in assessing cardiovascular risk related to levels of blood pressure. While the brachial cuff technique is embedded in clinical practice, there are advances being made where this is combined with information present in the arterial pulse so as to enhance the measurement of arterial blood pressure beyond the conventional systolic pressure (SP) and diastolic pressure (DP) values.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationThe Physiological measurement handbook
    EditorsJohn G Webster
    Place of PublicationBoca Raton, FL
    PublisherCRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group
    Pages13-41
    Number of pages29
    ISBN (Electronic)9781439808481
    ISBN (Print)9781439808474
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Publication series

    NameSeries in medical physics and biomedical engineering
    PublisherCRC Press

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