Several years ago, 24-hour blood pressure monitoring was carried out for research purposes. But now the situation has changed. Now the monitor is placed in patients for medical diagnosis of the work of the heart.
When is the examination scheduled?
The monitor is installed in the patient to diagnose pathologies associated with arterial hypertension. There are such cases:
- Borderline arterial hypertension.
- The presence of a person's fear of doctors.
- Identification of the symptomatic nature of arterial hypertension.
- Examination of people with pathologies such as heart failure, malnutrition of the brain, lipid metabolism disorders, etc.
- The monitor can be put in people at a young age who have a bad heredity associated with arterial hypertension.
Also set for patients prior to prescribing drugs to determine if they can be prescribed:
- Through examination, it is possible to identify patients who can be prescribed certain orother drugs or not.
- An assessment is made of whether drugs will have an effective effect on the body or not. It is also possible that, based on the monitor data, the doctor will conclude that certain drugs can harm a person.
- According to the examination, a treatment regimen is developed that will suit this patient.
- 24-hour blood pressure monitoring allows you to determine the individual rhythm of the patient. This information is needed to evaluate the use of a given medicine.
Methods
What are the methods of measuring blood pressure?
- Auscultatory way. The main advantage of this method is that it is resistant to external influences, namely hand movements and vibrations. The disadvantages of the auscultatory method include susceptibility to various noises. The microphone and cuff of the device must be in direct contact with the skin of the hand. If there are pathologies such as weak Korotkoff sounds in the body, then the measurement will be problematic.
- Oscillometric method for measuring blood pressure. This method is noise tolerant. This method of measuring blood pressure allows you to put the cuff on thin tissue, and its location does not matter. The main thing is that the cuff should be located up to the elbow bend. These indicators do not affect the measurement accuracy. Among the shortcomings, it can be noted that this method affects hand movements and vibration.
Indications for use
WhenIs 24-hour ECG and BP monitoring indicated? The procedure is necessary to fix the contractions of the heart muscle during the day. These results are necessary for the doctor to make an accurate diagnosis for the patient. Daily blood pressure monitoring is prescribed in the following cases:
- For the diagnosis of coronary heart disease such as angina pectoris, ischemia, cardiac arrest.
- To confirm or refute arterial hypertension.
- For various types of arrhythmias.
- For diagnosing heart defects.
- The monitor is placed before surgery to determine or exclude any indicators of the body.
- Scheduled prescription for diabetic patients.
- Determining if a patient is being treated correctly.
Preparation
Special preparation for this procedure is not required. You can eat ordinary food, the exception is alcohol. If a person smokes, it is recommended to reduce the number of cigarettes or eliminate them.
What does 24-hour ECG and BP monitoring include?
In order to take readings of the electrocardiogram and blood pressure within 24 hours, it is necessary to use a complex that is designed to measure these indicators. It includes one or more registrars. They keep a record of the patient's indicators during the day. The kit is also equipped with a computer and special software.
The data in the 24-hour blood pressure monitoring device are received via cable. The cuff also has a connecting channel with a registrar. It looks like a plastic tube. The hardware-software complex for 24-hour blood pressure monitoring receives signals from registrars. Then it converts them into non-volatile memory. There are several types of complexes.
System Description
What is a 24-hour BP monitoring system? These devices are used in cardiology. They are designed to record the patient's heart rate during the day. This data is then transferred to a computer and decrypted. There are several system models.
The advantage of using the method is that the patient is at home, in his usual environment. Therefore, the data of the device is more accurate than those obtained in medical institutions. Since many people start to panic at the sight of people in white coats.
24-hour blood pressure monitoring. Methodology
This type of examination can be assigned to a patient in a hospital or clinic. The procedure begins in the functional diagnostics room. The patient needs to come to this department early in the morning. There the doctor gives him instructions. After that, electrodes are attached to the patient's chest. Their number may vary depending on which device is used for the study. Usually their number is 5 or 7 pieces. The electrodes are attached using specialstickers. These electrodes are attached to a small apparatus. It can be worn by the patient both on the chest and on the belt. If the study is done in conjunction with checking blood pressure, then the patient is put on a cuff on his arm. Connecting wires also lead from it to the device. You should be aware that the procedure for attaching the electrodes, cuff and device does not take much time. It usually ends in 10 minutes. The patient does not experience any discomfort or pain.
After the device is installed, the patient is given a special diary that looks like a table. Next, a person needs to keep a record of his day, describe all the actions that he performs. For example, that he went to the store, ate, took medicine, sat down, watched TV and so on. You also need to fix any discomfort. An important point is the time of taking medications. A contraindication is taking a shower or bath. Since electrical appliances are located on a person.
After a day has passed, the patient must remove the monitor. The doctor transfers the recorded data from the device to the computer. After that, they are carefully deciphered, and the result is transmitted to the attending physician. Further, according to the data obtained, an accurate diagnosis is made. It also determines whether a person needs hospitalization or not. You should know that this examination is absolutely harmless to the human body.
Small conclusion
Now you know what ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is,how it is done and why. We hope that the information in the article was useful to you. Stay he althy!
