We know that Heart is the most vital organ in the human body which works as a purifier by pumping blood throughout the body and purifying it. As the heart pumps blood, a force is exerted on the artery wall by the blood circulation, which is measured as the blood pressure by the BP monitors or Sphygmomanometers.
The blood pressure in a normal or a healthy individual ranges between 110/70 to 120/80. It is referred to as the systolic to the diastolic ratio and a change in this ratio either leads to hypertension or low blood pressure which is either way harmful.
Blood Pressure Cuff:
With the advancement in the technology, you no longer need to take the trouble traveling to a practitioner or wait in the long queue for just checking your blood pressure. This traveling and waiting may intern affect your BP levels. It’s at this point the BP cuffs or Sphygmomanometers are serving better purpose.
A traditional sphygmomanometer comes with an inflatable cuff made out of cloth/vinyl, a bulb for inflating, and a mercury meter to note the values of the pressure levels. The cuff is inflatable and plays a key role in measuring the pressure exerted on artery walls by blood circulation.
How Blood Pressure Cuff Works?
The blood pressure cuffs are basically a sensor that notices the changes in the blood pressure. It is made with cloth or vinyl fabric and designed in different layers so that it can be filled with air in the inner layers. When the pumping bulb is used to inflate the cuffs, the inner cavity is filled with air and creates an outer pressure on the arm and is held firmly in place on the upper arm.
When the pressures in these cuffs are changed accordingly to match the systolic and diastolic ratios, the mercury meter or a digital manometer attached to the cuffs measure the pressure. A pumping bulb is attached along with the apparatus in the traditional monitors and as well as the aneroid manual manometers and doctors normally use these traditional manometers and the stethoscope to note the systolic and diastolic measurements by listening to the kortkoff sounds.
Operation of the Cuff: when the cuff is inflated, it restricts the blood flow, creating a pressure on the upper arm. The doctors now listen for the kortkoff sounds many times before noting down the pressure levels. The kortkoff sound is the sound heard when the blood pressure in the artery and the pressure in the BP cuffs are equal; doctors listen to a whooshing sound which indicates the equal pressures.
Though there are many versions of the blood pressure monitors available, most of the medical practitioners and students still make use of the traditional manometers.
Types of Blood Pressure Cuffs:
There are mainly two types of sphygmomanometer cuffs available (1) Manual and (2) digital.
Manual Cuffs:
In the manual category, the cuffs come with two types of meters attached to it either the mercury manometer or the aneroid or mechanical type of manometer with a dial. Doctors use stethoscope to read the blood pressure levels in these manometers. The manual mercury meter cuffs are probably the first of its kind and since then the unit of BP has been mmHg or millimeter of mercury (Hg). But with the danger of mercury being spilled out, the mercury meters have been replaced by the mechanical dial aneroid meter cuffs.
But the mercury manometers are still required in clinical trials of pharmaceuticals or of high blood pressure-risk patients or for the checkup of the pregnant women due to their accuracy.
The aneroid meter cuffs are now the traditional manometers in common use. The dial when mounted on walls or stands is less vulnerable than hand held manometers as they often require calibration. But they are considered safer than the mercury manometer cuffs. The manometers available at the lowest prices in this category are always less accurate and are highly susceptible to the mechanical jarring.
Digital Cuffs:
The digital or automatic cuffs often work on the same principle as that of the manual ones, but the digital meters attached to these cuffs use oscillometric measurements to note the blood pressure levels. These digital cuffs are again manual and automatic accordingly. The completely automatic manometer cuffs are inflated by a battery or electricity. The digital monitors display the blood pressure readings and some even note the pulse rate and come with preset readings of the points when the blood flow stops or starts, when the cuffs are inflated.
Of all the blood pressure cuffs, the digital cuffs are easier and safer to use and anyone can use it on their own as these cuffs come with a failsafe warning system, in case if the cuffs are not wound properly around the arm.
Panasonic EW3901S is the large cuff for Panasonic upper arm blood pressure monitors, which adds comfort while you detect irregular pulse rate or the regular systolic blood pressure readings with your Panasonic monitor all the day long instantaneously.
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