I hope I don’t sound too stupid for asking this, but…
When the doctor or nurse or nurse-practioner measures blood pressure, what does it actually mean? I’m serious…what really is ‘blood pressure’? Just what are they doing when they put on the cuff, and what are they listening for through the stethescope? What is the meaning of having “(number) over (number)?” In all the years of physicals, and the occasional visit to an ER, I’ve never understood why having my blood pressure taken is so all-important that it is always taken without fail.
This page gives a pretty clear explanation. It’s pretty much what is says - the pressure of blood as it flows through your arteries, measured in mm Hg. Two readings are made when the pressure is highest and lowest, and that’s the two numbers that you get, eg 120/80. High blood pressure can lead to strokes, heart disease, kidney failure, and can be a sign of hypertension, so it’s a good thing to test on a regular basis.
Also a sudden drop in blood pressure can indicate that the circulatory system is becoming unable to deal with a sudden blood loss… from bleeding either external or internal.
first you use the blood pressure cuff to completely collapse the artery, if you just walked away at this point the arm would go numb, turn cold, die and rot. Then you listen and watch the gauge as you slowly lower the pressure, what your listening for is the turbulence of a partially opened artery. There’s no sound while the arteries collapsed and none when it’s all the way open. Thus the high number, systolic pressure, is when the maximum pressure created by the squeezing heart can force it open briefly. The low number, diastolic pressure is when it stays open even at the lowest pressure between beats, hope this helps
Larry