Hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. Long-term poor control can lead to serious complications such as stroke, heart failure, and renal damage. How to identify and manage hypertension early and scientifically is an important topic in clinical and public health management. Among the many monitoring methods, blood pressure cuffs are the most common non-invasive blood pressure measurement tools. They are not only widely used in clinics, but also increasingly entering families, communities, and workplaces, becoming an important part of daily health monitoring.
First, the most common and easily identifiable is persistent hypertension, which means that the patient's blood pressure is continuously higher than the normal range (generally systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg, or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg) when measured at different times and in different environments. Abnormal readings of the blood pressure cuff in routine physical examinations and self-tests can be initially indicated. The second is white coat hypertension, which is manifested as high blood pressure when measured in medical institutions, but normal when measured at home or in a relaxing environment. This phenomenon is mostly related to emotional tension. By using a blood pressure cuff to measure blood pressure regularly at home and comparing it with the results of medical institutions, it is effective to identify whether there is white coat hypertension.
The other type is hidden hypertension, that is, the patient's blood pressure is normal when measured in the clinic, but the blood pressure is elevated in daily life or at night without being discovered. This type is common in patients with early hypertension or sub-healthy people. If it is not identified in time, the opportunity for intervention may be delayed. This problem can often be revealed by measuring the blood pressure cuff at different time periods, especially in the early morning and at night. Some modern blood pressure cuff devices support automatic timing measurement functions, which also provide technical support for the discovery of hidden blood pressure elevation.
Another type of high clinical significance is nocturnal hypertension. Under normal circumstances, the sympathetic nerve activity of the human body decreases during sleep, and blood pressure should drop by 10%-20%. If the blood pressure rises instead of falling at night, or the drop is insufficient, it may indicate an early manifestation of abnormal neural regulation or target organ damage.
In the acute state, hypertensive crisis is a special type that requires high vigilance, usually manifested by a sudden and sharp increase in blood pressure (such as systolic blood pressure ≥180 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥120 mmHg), accompanied by symptoms such as headache, chest pain, blurred vision, and impaired consciousness. The blood pressure cuff plays a "warning" role at this time. Once an extremely high reading is measured, the repeated measurement should be stopped immediately and medical treatment should be sought as soon as possible. In addition, there is a relatively rare but meaningful type in a specific population - postural hypertension, which refers to the increase in blood pressure when changing from lying to standing. This type is common in the elderly, diabetics or those with autonomic dysfunction. By measuring blood pressure before and after the change of body position with a blood pressure cuff, it can be determined whether there is an abnormal reaction.
It is worth mentioning that the value of the blood pressure cuff in daily management is more than that. For patients with confirmed hypertension, the blood pressure cuff helps monitor the effect of drug treatment, evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions, and can also be used to identify easily overlooked risk factors such as morning peak blood pressure fluctuations. Modern electronic blood pressure monitors generally support data storage and analysis, and some models also have Bluetooth transmission function, which can upload measurement results to the health management platform to further improve the efficiency and accuracy of continuous management.
In summary, as a simple, easy-to-use and economical blood pressure monitoring tool, the blood pressure cuff can not only preliminarily screen for elevated blood pressure, but also has the potential to identify various types of hypertension, including persistent hypertension, white coat hypertension, concealed hypertension, nocturnal hypertension, hypertensive crisis and postural hypertension. In clinical and family health management, the scientific use of blood pressure cuffs, combined with regular records and physician guidance, can help achieve early detection, accurate classification and long-term control of hypertension, thereby effectively reducing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. For the public who care about their health, paying attention to blood pressure monitoring and using blood pressure cuffs correctly is undoubtedly an important step towards a healthy life.