High blood pressure is known as the "silent killer" because it usually has no obvious symptoms. A
person can have high blood pressure for years and never know it. High blood pressure, or hypertension,
can be deadly because it damages the blood vessels in organs such as the brain and kidneys and it is the
leading cause of strokes. The extra work the heart must do to pump blood against the increased resistance
of the hardened arteries may cause a heart attack or heart failure. According to the
American Heart Association (AHA), over 50 million
Americans have high blood pressure. In fact, in over 90% of the cases the cause is unknown, which is
referred to as essential hypertension. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to diagnose with regular
screening by a physician.
A reading of 120/80 is considered an average reading, with the AHA stating that a reading under 140/90
is normal for an adult. The first number (120) in the reading is the systolic pressure. That number is the
maximum pressure placed on the arteries when the heart contracts and pumps blood. The second number (80)
is the diastolic pressure, which is the amount of pressure in the blood vessel when the heart relaxes.
When reading blood pressure, the diastolic number is most indicative of potential problems. The diastolic
number reflects the elasticity of the arteries. Elastic, flexible arteries are healthy arteries. Arteries
that have cholesterol and plaque buildup become "hardened" and cannot return to their original shape as
easily once the heart has finished its contraction. The combination of a smaller openings and the loss of
elasticity causes an increase in the pressure.
With a diagnosis of hypertension, measuring blood pressure on a daily basis becomes a necessity, but
heading to the doctor's office every day is an impossibility. A home blood pressure monitor becomes an
effective tool in daily monitoring.
Accuracy is the most important attribute of any home monitor. The
Best Blood Pressure Monitor is the most accurate
model that we tested. To ensure precision in our evaluations, we compared every reading from the at-home
monitors to readings taken by Registered Nurses using a mercury sphygmomanometer and stethoscope.
Consistently, the readings from the Best monitor most closely mirrored those readings taken by the RN's.
The Best Blood Pressure Monitor uses fuzzy logic, an artificial intelligence, to make it more accurate.
Fuzzy logic is a multi-valued logic that allows for more values than just binary logic (yes/no,
black/white, etc.). In blood pressure monitoring, fuzzy logic technology allows the monitor to pump the
correct amount of air into the cuff according to arm size; it also allows the cuff to "feel" the systolic
pressure so the inflation is high enough to correctly read the systolic pressure, avoiding uncomfortable
over-inflation or ineffective under-inflation. Some models on the market require the user to program in
their own systolic pressure, which can sometimes be a inaccurate guess.
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