The rules for measuring blood pressure – and why they exist

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上一次测量血压时，你是不是一边喝着咖啡一边冲去看医生? Were you perched on an exam table with your legs dangling or your arm hanging? 你是在和医务人员聊天还是在手机上浏览社交媒体? 你的膀胱满了吗??

在某些情况下，上述任何一种行为都可能会影响你的血压读数, by as much as 33 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). 这可能会让你和你的医生无法确定你是否需要治疗，或者目前的治疗是否有效.

“在任何临床环境中，测量血压可能是最理所当然的测量,”医生说。. 肖娜奈斯比特, 帕克兰健康高血压诊所的医学主任和德克萨斯大学西南医学中心的内科教授, 都在达拉斯. 但她说，在日常生活中，人们对其有效性的关注还不够. “我认为这是例行公事，这就是为什么它被认为是理所当然的，基本上是错误的, 70%的沙巴足球体育平台."

当收缩压(最高值)至少为130毫米汞柱时，青少年或成年人的血压被认为是高的, or the diastolic (bottom number) is 80 mmHg or more. 血压 的指导方针 由美国心脏协会和美国心脏病学会发布的, 除此之外, 读数时，患者坐在椅子上，脚平放在地板上, their back supported and their upper arm cuffed and raised to heart level.

While it's important to know how to properly measure blood pressure, it's just as important to understand why the 的指导方针 should be followed.

"血压 is one of those factors that has a lot of variability. It's all over the place,”医生说。. 保罗Whelton, 他是新奥尔良杜兰大学公共卫生和热带医学学院的著名教授，也是世界高血压联盟的主席, a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention and control of high blood pressure.

关键是要避免那些自然导致血压暂时升高的因素.

"Even if you're just rushing in from your car, 这可能会产生一些压力，使血压至少暂时升高,内斯比特说. "What we want to measure is not that momentary increase. 我们想知道你在日常生活中最具代表性的平均血压."

这里有一些关键点要记住，以确保准确的读数，这样如果你的血压过高，你和你的医疗团队就可以决定正确的治疗方法.

提前计划. It's important to avoid exercise, smoking and caffeine at least 30 minutes before the blood pressure reading. All of these temporarily raise heart rate and blood pressure. Smoking also constricts blood vessels in the short term, altering the way blood flows through the body.

保持冷静. 理想情况下，你应该在测量血压前放松五分钟左右. 这是因为你身体的“战斗或逃跑”反应——官方称为交感神经系统——在面对压力或身体活动时会自动加速. 心跳加速，血管收紧——身体准备通过战斗或逃跑来应对感知到的危险.

去洗手间. Once you arrive for your appointment, take a moment to visit the bathroom. “如果你的膀胱满了, it sends a response to your brain that also stimulates the nervous system,内斯比特说. "And that increases blood pressure as well."

姿势很重要. Next, pay attention to how you're sitting. "Be seated with your back supported, feet flat on the ground,”医生说。. Yvonne Commodore-Mensah是巴尔的摩约翰霍普金斯护理学院的副教授. 她说，不遵循这些步骤可能会使血压从5毫米汞柱升高到20毫米汞柱.

One reason: Even exertion that we barely notice, such as engaging muscles to sit up straight on an examination table, 会影响血压, 奈斯比特说. Different postures also affect the way blood circulates. 例如, crossing your legs at the knees compresses blood vessels, reducing the amount of blood returning to the heart, so the body has to work harder to keep the blood flowing, 她说.

嘘. During the test, both you and the health care professional should be quiet. 即使你谈论的不是明显有压力的事情，谈话也会使血压升高. Talking also stimulates the brain, 奈斯比特说. "It's not just the act of talking. 你的想法、参与和你所说的话也可能会导致血压升高."

这些因素对血压的影响不小:根据ACC，谈话可以 增加测量值 by up to 19 mmHg and crossed legs by up to 15 mmHg. 如果你的手臂挂着, rather than supported at heart level, readings could be up to 20 mmHg too high. Lack of leg or back support can raise blood pressure by 5 mmHg, and a full bladder can increase it by up to 33 mmHg.

"If you do most of these steps wrong,门萨准将说, “想想它对测量血压的巨大影响吧."

如果你在家测量血压——她说如果你有高血压，这是“绝对关键的”——遵循所有的指导方针，并把结果记录下来给你的医生看. It is the best way to track high blood pressure long term. But there's still a chance the device may still show a wrong measurement.

"There are a lot of instruments out there," and most are labeled "FDA cleared,威尔顿说, who led the writing committee for the AHA/ACC blood pressure 的指导方针. “所有‘FDA批准’的意思是组成部分的功能都是正常的. 但它并不能告诉你设备测量血压的好坏."

Before buying an at-home blood pressure monitor, check www.validatebp.org or consult with a health care professional or pharmacist. “这是一项值得的投资，因为我们知道这是一种终生的疾病，”准将-门萨说.