To take your blood pressure, you don’t really need to go to the doctor anymore … Hypertension remains the biggest health risk although it is easily measured at home, with the blessing of your doctor. Especially since it is easily treated, as long as it is controlled!
To begin with, we recall the correct numbers: between 14 and 9.
Too low numbers are called hypotension; a little synonymous with fatigue but we don’t talk about it, because it is never – or very, very rarely – serious. On the other hand, having too much tension is the door open to serious vascular or heart attacks.
There are now devices, sold in pharmacies, which allow you to take your blood pressure yourself …
And first surprise, patients take their blood pressure better than professionals.
In one in 10 people, the self-measurement shows abnormal numbers while those of the doctor are within the normal limits. The problem is that studies show that the patient is right.
Second surprise, nearly one in 3 people who are hypertensive to the doctor would suffer from what is called the “white coat” effect.
These two medical truths cause a lot of people to take blood pressure medication for nothing …
A device better than the doctor!
One of the pitfalls of this self-measurement at home is to abuse it, often on a daily basis. We recommend once a week as long as the figures are not standardized. After, once a month, is sufficient. But it is often a family game… A game which, however, can save lives. This is why, for family celebrations, for those who are for example over fifty years old, it is an excellent gift.
Consult the list of the Research Foundation on HyperTension Arterial
We will not advertise for a specific brand. The Haute Autorité de santé offers a list on its site. However, instead take a device that takes your blood pressure from the arm rather than the wrist. Afterwards, at the pharmacist or on the internet, if it’s on the list, it’s good. Count on average 70 euros.
Some armbands are connected to your smartphone, which thus keeps the measurement history of the whole family.
A very nice Christmas market for manufacturers. In fact, 10% of the population suffers in theory from hypertension. Calculate, that’s almost 7 million people on a knife edge. A good half of which do not know. Why ? Because quite simply hypertension is a silent killer. Because the big problem with high blood pressure is that you don’t feel anything.
Once diagnosed, the problem does not end there. Although there are particularly effective drugs, one in three people, again because there are no symptoms, do not take their treatment. One more reason to self-check.
Address of site of the Research Foundation on HyperTension Arterial
http://www.frhta.org/hta_et_automesure.php
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