Much of what concerns medicine, cardiovascular diseases and their prevention is characterized by unreliability and the ability to mislead. And in disseminating this information, the patients themselves play a major role, while medical professionals sometimes have a very difficult job due to prejudices and false beliefs. One of these is the possibility of allegedly accurate determination of blood pressure from the characteristics of the pulse. This publication is intended to dispel the general misconception, because it is impossible to determine the pressure by pulse with high reliability.
Exception to rule
There is only one situation in which an indirect pattern between the heart rate andpulse voltage is used in practice. And it concerns the work of emergency medical services, whose employees must instantly assess the patient's condition, sometimes without resorting to instrumental confirmation. In other situations, the possibility of a reliable measurement of blood pressure by pulse is a conjecture of people who are not directly related to professional medicine.
Their misinformation harms by misleading the patient, forcing them to draw wrong conclusions and sometimes take medications necessary for emergency care (Clonidine and Moxonidine, Nifedipine and others). In addition, it should be remembered that if blood pressure could indeed be accurately or approximately determined from the tension of the arterial wall, measuring devices would not be needed by any medical professional and patient.
Pulse measurement inefficiency
Information on how to determine blood pressure by pulse is given a lot of attention in numerous free sources. But they allow the publication of materials written not by medical specialists, but by journalists or by the patients themselves. And the problem is that these materials not only do not carry informational value, but also harm.
Very often they mention that blood pressure can be measured without a tonometer with an accuracy of up to 99% in terms of pulse voltage and frequency. By the way, even for measuring equipment that determines blood pressure figures in an indirect way, the error approaches 10%. ToUnfortunately, many patients not only do not measure pressure due to the lack of devices, but also do not know how to do it, even if they use an electronic tonometer.
Frequency and strength of the pulse
Despite the belief of many patients that a frequent heartbeat is always observed at high pressure, this thesis does not help in any way in deciding how to determine the pressure on the pulse on the arm. Not always intense rapid pulse indicates high blood pressure, since an increase in heart rate rarely provokes a hypertensive crisis.
The increase in blood pressure is due to a change in the tone of the vascular wall, and not an increase in heart rate and pulse. It is important not to violate the causal relationship, as it leads to mass delusions and forces one to draw incorrect conclusions. They will result in taking antihypertensive drugs when not needed, which can lead to hypotension.
Types of pulse for some values of blood pressure
Tense resistant pulse can be observed in many patients with normal pressure, which is typical for young patients. And on its basis it is impossible to judge bad he alth. At the same time, the pulse rate, with the definition and interpretation of which patients make mistakes no less than with blood pressure numbers, is also not a criterion for taking antihypertensive drugs. And a few examples will be given as proof.
The low heart rate in 1st degree AV block at 45 beats per minute will always be resistant and tense, while the arterialpressure will be either normal or slightly elevated. In sick sinus syndrome, the pulse rate also decreases, but blood pressure drops rarely. But with sinus tachycardia of 120 beats per minute, there may not be an increase in systolic blood pressure above 140. The pulse in this situation will be moderately intense, resistant.
BP with palpitations
In tachyarrhythmia, such as atrial fibrillation, the pulse rarely rises, while the heart rate increases significantly (pulse deficit), which is traditionally accompanied by a tendency to lower blood pressure. With ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, the pulse on the radial artery may not be felt (or it is filiform), while blood pressure tends to zero.
These contradictions do not allow the formation of universal and understandable rules for patients, because of which it is impossible for them to explain what properties of the pulse determine the level of blood pressure. Any such initiatives are dangerous, and all medical questions must be decided by a professional, guided by criteria and scientific knowledge. It is necessary to chop at the root of any attempt at an unskilled assessment of the parameters of cardiac activity
Rapid assessment of blood pressure levels
For information on how to determine the pressure on the pulse and how to interpret the information received, you can ask the staff of the emergency medical service or the staff of intensive care and intensive care units of inpatient he althcare facilities. They will explain that in order to push blood to the peripheral arteries and overcome the general peripheralvascular resistance requires some effort. In this case, it is blood pressure. And by detecting the presence of a pulse on the available arteries, one can quickly guess whether a patient is in a state of hypotension and shock, as well as how severe their illness is.
The following theses will answer the question of how to determine the pressure on the pulse. If a pulsation is detected on the carotid artery, then the level of systolic pressure is 40 mmHg or more. If there is a pulse on the brachial artery, the level of blood pressure will be higher than 60-70 mmHg, and if there is a clear pulsation on the radial artery (on the wrist), then the value of systolic blood pressure is significantly higher than 80. As can be seen from the figures presented, an express assessment of the patient's condition without using tonometer takes place, although this must be confirmed instrumentally. It should be noted that in a professional environment, there is no question of the intensity of the pulse.
Grounds for mass disinformation
For emergency services, knowing the methods of rapid assessment of the patient's condition helps to quickly plan the tactics of care, while in all other situations the need for rapid measurement is eliminated. Therefore, your blood pressure numbers should be measured as accurately as possible according to the guidelines of the attending physician. And this must be done using a tonometer, measuring pressure at the level of the heart, putting a cuff on the shoulder and listening to tones in the upper region of the cubital fossa.
About how to determine the pressure without a tonometer by pulse, none of the patients should tell the doctor or other people, as this is misinformation, partly aimed at justifying the lack of a measuring device at home. Wanting to save money and justify frugality, patients may encourage others to follow their example. However, this is a destructive tactic that exacerbates control over BP numbers, misconfiguring each person.
Direct harm of disinformation
According to WHO statistics, out of 1.5 billion hypertensive patients, about 45% of people either do not measure pressure or deliberately ignore high values. It should be understood that the problem of the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is not invented by someone who aspires to world domination. This is not an elite conspiracy to make money selling drugs, but a real problem that has a very effective solution.
Asking questions about whether it is possible to determine the pressure of a person by the pulse, how to treat hypertension without drugs, coming up with an excuse for the lack of proper attention to one’s he alth and not having a tonometer, refusing drug therapy under any pretexts, but by demonstrating an addiction to alcohol and smoking, the patient avoids responsibility and will pay for it with a decrease in life expectancy and a decrease in its quality.
Change the opinions of others and direct their thoughts in another,in a more creative direction is very difficult because of the opposition on the part of the patient, his attempts to look for hidden intentions in the actions of the doctor and the medical system as a whole. Meanwhile, due to lack of discipline and people's inability to follow medical advice, the disease continues to take lives.
Need to measure blood pressure
It is necessary to consider the question of how to determine the pressure by the pulse, only in order to exclude any initiative on the part of the patient, to demonstrate the inefficiency and destructiveness of this undertaking. In hypertensive patients, any deterioration in well-being should be accompanied by the determination of the exact numbers of blood pressure using accurate equipment. It is impossible to judge in absentia about a decrease or increase in pressure, motivating this with a simple phrase “I feel.”
Only a reliable definition allows you to accurately judge the severity of deterioration in he alth, allows you to take adequate measures to stabilize the condition. And in this context, it is impossible to ask the question of whether it is possible to determine the pressure without a tonometer by the pulse. If there is a tonometer, then the blood pressure numbers should be accurately determined. If it is not at hand, you need to either ask the people around you, or contact the emergency medical service. There are no grounds for other solutions in this situation.
