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What do blood pressure readings indicate?

I would like to add a brief answer in common language. The heart is a pump which pushes blood into the arteries in pulsatile manner (pushes out blood with each heart beat). As the blood is pushed in ...
rnso's user avatar
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13 votes
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What are some natural ways to reduce blood pressure?

Walking Several studies have been done on the effects of walking and high blood pressure One Korean study1 had 23 men with hypertension; they found that taking a 40 minute walk helped to reduce the ...
michaelpri's user avatar
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13 votes

What do blood pressure readings indicate?

The two numbers indicate different amounts of pressure (measured in millimeters of mercury) in the arteries at different times in the cardiac cycle. The cardiac cycle just refers to the different ...
Susan's user avatar
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11 votes
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What are the natural ways to increase the blood pressure?

If you're saying that you have a low blood pressure and you're seeking to reestablish a phisiological value I would answer you that low blood pressure it's not a disease unless it's really too low, ...
Attilio's user avatar
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10 votes
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Can the blood accumulated after stroke be cured?

First of all, I am going to stay quite “general” as I understand you are not from the field. The aim of my post is really to provide some clarifications to your question. There are two types of ...
M. Arrowsmith's user avatar
8 votes

Can stress increase blood pressure?

tl; dr - The answer is yes, clinically you can react to having your blood pressure (BP) taken by having an abnormally high reading. What you are describing is called "white coat syndrome" or "white ...
JohnP's user avatar
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Why does your head get enough blood and your feet don't when lifted above your body?

This is a very good question. The answer: because your head was meant to be above your body! Your body has very specific mechanisms for maintaining a constant blood flow in the cerebral circulation ...
Susan's user avatar
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8 votes
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Does having more muscles influence blood pressure measurement?

There is evidence that a muscular arm will produce a higher systolic reading if the wrong sized cuff is applied. There are two measurements in a blood pressure reading, the systolic and the diastolic....
JohnP's user avatar
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8 votes
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If sphygmomanometer literally cuts off the blood flow, is it gonna kill the patient if pressure is not released?

Heart attacks are caused by reduced or blocked blood flow to the heart, but a sphygmonanometer cuts off the blood flow to the arm (or leg) only. It's not possible it could cause a heart attack ...
Carey Gregory's user avatar
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7 votes
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Topical nifedipine cream and hypotension

Nifedipine is a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker. As you point out, it is used via oral administration for treatment of hypertension. Its effects are mediated primarily by blocking voltage-...
Susan's user avatar
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7 votes
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How does a blood transfusion directly from one person to another through a line work?

Direct blood transfusion is both dangerous for the donor and inconvenient in a modern medical setting, so this does not really happen today outside of movies/TV. Before blood banking and ...
Bryan Krause's user avatar
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6 votes

What user error can lead to a too-low blood pressure measurement?

The easiest way to find out what might be wrong is to take the apparatus to a healthcare practitioner's office with you, and have your BP measured by someone trained to do so correctly, then use the ...
anongoodnurse's user avatar
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Is there evidence that lowering blood pressure via medication is decreasing mortality?

Yes, mortality benefits for blood pressure medicine have been demonstrated in trials. Let me just preface this by saying this was much harder to find than I was expecting. Questioning the benefit of ...
Joel's user avatar
  • 76
6 votes

Is decaffeinated coffee a diuretic?

While coffee in large amounts can stimulate urine production, it's not enough to produce a dehydration effect, especially in people accustomed to drinking caffeine. This recent study compared 50 male ...
JohnP's user avatar
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6 votes
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Looking for studies about how blood pressure changes are perceived by our brain

This study published in 2014 provides an excellent review of the physiological mechanisms of cerebral blood flow regulation (open access): Willie CK et al. Integrative regulation of human brain blood ...
M. Arrowsmith's user avatar
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What is the blood pressure within the right ventricle?

Like the left ventricle, the right ventricle goes through a contractile cycle: at diastole, the pressure is near zero (and must be <0 relative to the right atrium, or it wouldn't fill with blood); ...
Bryan Krause's user avatar
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5 votes
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What heart conditions cause dizziness after/during exercise?

Dizziness or giddiness during exercise is classically caused by obstruction to the outflow of the heart i.e. aortic stenosis (see MedlinePlus). This condition is most commonly seen in either young ...
rncardio's user avatar
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5 votes
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Is olive leaf extract dangerous for low blood pressure?

First, I should say that I think this question should be closed. It's clearly a request for personal medical advice, but apparently no one else shares that view, so I'll go ahead and answer. I ...
Carey Gregory's user avatar
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5 votes
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Blood pressure in aorta vs. blood pressure in brachial artery

The mean pressure has to be lower peripherally for blood to flow in that direction. However, it is well known that there is an amplification of systolic blood pressure in the limbs due to reflection ...
rncardio's user avatar
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5 votes
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What's the best body position for measuring the blood pressure?

While trying to measure the blood pressure, the physician is most likely interested in measuring the pressure inside the left ventricle of the heart. So it is necessary that the Sphygmomanometer and ...
Rana Prathap's user avatar
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5 votes
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Medical puzzle: can blood flow in arteries be non-pulsatile?

No, not in a normal human (non surgical intervention) simply because of the mechanism of how the blood is pushed through the body. It isn't like a faucet, where you have constant pressure and ...
JohnP's user avatar
  • 6,570
5 votes

How much difference should there be between systolic and diastolic pressure?

The difference between systolic and diastolic pressures is known as the pulse pressure. (If this doesn't make sense, please see another answer of mine where I explained the meanings of the different ...
Susan's user avatar
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5 votes
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What causes aortic aneurysm

Aneurysm - a pathologic ballooning of a segment of a blood vessel Source: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/arm/types - Public Domain In order for an aneurysm to occur, conditions ...
neerajt's user avatar
  • 711
5 votes

How can blood pressure be high but my pulse low?

If that is the accurate pressure, you really need to go to the emergency room! 188 is high but not immediately dangerous, but 134 for a diastolic is outrageous. At very least go to an urgent care or ...
quietmedic's user avatar
5 votes
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Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor Accuracy?

Take both to your doctor's office the next time and compare them to the manual cuff. There are many models that can be calibrated that way. Not all models are as accurate as others. This article ...
DoctorWhom's user avatar
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5 votes

Passing out after injections

Fainting due to vaccination occurs only occasionally, your immune system usually takes longer to react to viruses or bacteria (this is the incubation time of an illness). 1 hour is a very unusual ...
Narusan's user avatar
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5 votes
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Is it a good idea to replace Sodium Chloride (NaCl) with Potassium Chloride (KCl) for everyday consumption?

From the context of your question I would say no. Increasing K+ intake is alright but completely eliminating Na+ from the diet would be a bad idea. In terms of the cardiovascular diseases like high ...
user 33690's user avatar
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Taking Blood Pressure Bilaterally -- Why?

Because that's the way to measure blood pressure The German guidelines for treating hypertonia are to always measure bilateral. (German Source Only) As @DoctorWhom pointed out in the comments, ...
Narusan's user avatar
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5 votes
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Why does caffeine raise your blood pressure when it's a diuretic?

Caffeine increased plasma renin activity by 57 per cent, plasma norepinephrine by 75 per cent and plasma epinephrine by 207 per cent. Urinary normetanephrine and metanephrine were increased 52 per ...
Graham Chiu's user avatar
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4 votes

Is there evidence that lowering blood pressure via medication is decreasing mortality?

Yes. This is one of the few areas of primary prevention* where the data are clear. The (intelligently) skeptical tone of your question suggests to me that you would be (appropriately) wary of ...
Susan's user avatar
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