Cycling UK Forum

I would like an all day blood pressure check and think that a chest band fitting one would be the most suitable. A possible problem is that I don't use a smart phone. Can the results be downloaded to a PC.?

If so suggestions for a suitable not too expensive model.

Thanks

I think you are confusing heart rate with blood pressure. I’m not aware of a chest band measuring blood pressure.
If your computer has Bluetooth then I would think a device could talk to it like a smart phone.

Wrist band one https://aktiia.com/uk/hp5?gclid=EAIaIQo ... gKRgPD_BwE

No idea whether it’s any good, but Mr Google found it in about five seconds, along with several others.

Most, I’m sure, will run via a smart phone to cloud storage, but if you poke around you might be able to find a “store and download” one.

There are no chest band devices for blood pressure, only wrist and upper arm. Upper arm (if fitted correctly is more accurate than wrist based systems). The sensor needs to be positioned over the brachial artery (you can easily feel this yourself) and the height of the cuff the same as the heart.

Chest straps are for heart rate (and rhythm in some cases too) and are more accurate than wrist based systems.

softlips wrote: ↑8 Mar 2023, 1:24pm There are no chest band devices for blood pressure, only wrist and upper arm. Upper arm (if fitted correctly is more accurate than wrist based systems). The sensor needs to be positioned over the brachial artery (you can easily feel this yourself) and the height of the cuff the same as the heart.

Chest straps are for heart rate (and rhythm in some cases too) and are more accurate than wrist based systems.

Most, if not all, upper arm automated BP monitors do not have any sensors in the cuff or tube, so there is no requirement to place any non existent sensor over the brachial artery.
These devices work by detecting pressure and pressure oscillations in the air contained in the cuff/tube system. The pressure sensors/transducers are within the main unit not in the cuff/tube. This is obvious from the fact that there are no electrical connections between the cuff/tube and the main unit.
Traditional sphygmomanometer type devices require the auscultation sensor (diaphragm) to be over the brachial artery

rualexander wrote: ↑9 Mar 2023, 1:01am

softlips wrote: ↑8 Mar 2023, 1:24pm There are no chest band devices for blood pressure, only wrist and upper arm. Upper arm (if fitted correctly is more accurate than wrist based systems). The sensor needs to be positioned over the brachial artery (you can easily feel this yourself) and the height of the cuff the same as the heart.

Chest straps are for heart rate (and rhythm in some cases too) and are more accurate than wrist based systems.

Most, if not all, upper arm automated BP monitors do not have any sensors in the cuff or tube, so there is no requirement to place any non existent sensor over the brachial artery.
These devices work by detecting pressure and pressure oscillations in the air contained in the cuff/tube system. The pressure sensors/transducers are within the main unit not in the cuff/tube. This is obvious from the fact that there are no electrical connections between the cuff/tube and the main unit.
Traditional sphygmomanometer type devices require the auscultation sensor (diaphragm) to be over the brachial artery

Sensor was the incorrect word, I can't remember what this part was called when I was involved in patient monitoring. On many older models you can feel a round part on the cuff to go over the artery which while not a diaphragm collects the sound. It is recommend the centre of the cuff is placed over the artery. This is often marked on the cuff and is usually around the area where the tube is inserted.

I remember once an heated debate in the lab between the cardiologist I was working with and the anaesthetist. The cardiologist demonstrated different readings depending on the position of the cuff.

softlips wrote: ↑9 Mar 2023, 8:50am
On many older models you can feel a round part on the cuff to go over the artery which while not a diaphragm collects the sound. It is recommend the centre of the cuff is placed over the artery. This is often marked on the cuff and is usually around the area where the tube is inserted.

I don't know about older models (how old are we talking about?), or about devices used in hospitals, I've only had a home monitor for about 12 years but most if not all home devices do not have anything to "collect the sound" as they don't work by using sound, they work by analysing variations in the air pressure within the cuff/tube system.
Most devices recommend and illustrate having the exit point of the tube from the cuff on the centreline of the arm which is pretty close to the path of the brachial artery, but in reality it is not that critical. I have tried moving it around my arm an inch or so either way and it makes no difference.

rualexander wrote: ↑9 Mar 2023, 9:21am

softlips wrote: ↑9 Mar 2023, 8:50am
On many older models you can feel a round part on the cuff to go over the artery which while not a diaphragm collects the sound. It is recommend the centre of the cuff is placed over the artery. This is often marked on the cuff and is usually around the area where the tube is inserted.

I don't know about older models (how old are we talking about?), or about devices used in hospitals, I've only had a home monitor for about 12 years but most if not all home devices do not have anything to "collect the sound" as they don't work by using sound, they work by analysing variations in the air pressure within the cuff/tube system.
Most devices recommend and illustrate having the exit point of the tube from the cuff on the centreline of the arm which is pretty close to the path of the brachial artery, but in reality it is not that critical. I have tried moving it around my arm an inch or so either way and it makes no difference.

All machines work on the following principle.

The cuff inflates to a pressure high enough to stop any sounds being heard from the brachial artery (the sound goes through the hose -if you tap the hose during inflation the machine will continue inflating as the algorithm indicates the pulse is still being heard). The pressure in the cuff is then lowered until the sound (known as Korotoff sounds) can be heard again (via the tube). The pressure in the cuff at this point is then recorded as the systolic pressure. The cuff deflates some more until the sounds cease to be recorded and the pressure in the cuff at this point is recorded as the diastolic pressure.

softlips wrote: ↑10 Mar 2023, 10:34am
All machines work on the following principle.

The cuff inflates to a pressure high enough to stop any sounds being heard from the brachial artery (the sound goes through the hose -if you tap the hose during inflation the machine will continue inflating as the algorithm indicates the pulse is still being heard). The pressure in the cuff is then lowered until the sound (known as Korotoff sounds) can be heard again (via the tube). The pressure in the cuff at this point is then recorded as the systolic pressure. The cuff deflates some more until the sounds cease to be recorded and the pressure in the cuff at this point is recorded as the diastolic pressure.

Incorrect.

Most if not all, electronic BP monitors do not work by detecting sound (the traditional auscultatory method), they work on the oscillometric method of detecting and analysing pressure variations in the cuff/tube system.

They don't use Korotkoff sounds, they apply a computer algorithm to analyse the pressure variations in order to estimate the blood pressure.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41371-019-0196-9

softlips wrote: ↑9 Mar 2023, 8:50am

rualexander wrote: ↑9 Mar 2023, 1:01am

softlips wrote: ↑8 Mar 2023, 1:24pm There are no chest band devices for blood pressure, only wrist and upper arm. Upper arm (if fitted correctly is more accurate than wrist based systems). The sensor needs to be positioned over the brachial artery (you can easily feel this yourself) and the height of the cuff the same as the heart.

Chest straps are for heart rate (and rhythm in some cases too) and are more accurate than wrist based systems.

Most, if not all, upper arm automated BP monitors do not have any sensors in the cuff or tube, so there is no requirement to place any non existent sensor over the brachial artery.
These devices work by detecting pressure and pressure oscillations in the air contained in the cuff/tube system. The pressure sensors/transducers are within the main unit not in the cuff/tube. This is obvious from the fact that there are no electrical connections between the cuff/tube and the main unit.
Traditional sphygmomanometer type devices require the auscultation sensor (diaphragm) to be over the brachial artery

Sensor was the incorrect word, I can't remember what this part was called when I was involved in patient monitoring. On many older models you can feel a round part on the cuff to go over the artery which while not a diaphragm collects the sound. It is recommend the centre of the cuff is placed over the artery. This is often marked on the cuff and is usually around the area where the tube is inserted.

I remember once an heated debate in the lab between the cardiologist I was working with and the anaesthetist. The cardiologist demonstrated different readings depending on the position of the cuff.

I was trying to find this post last night when I did the experiment, but I was looking on the wrong thread.

My cuff has the artery position marked on it, and when aligned correctly the hose is in the middle of my elbow on the left arm, and next to the pointy bone on my right arm.

Anyhow, I measured my BP on my left arm, and inflation pressure 20 times in succession with the cuff aligned alternately correctly and rotated 180 degrees from correct. The result was:
Systolic was 1.5mm lower when fitted correctly, but not significant, as the p-value was 48%.
Inflation pressure was 6.9mm lower when fitted correctly, with a p-value of 4.4%.

Having spent 30 minutes doing non-stop measurements one after the other, it left me feeling quite unwell, from which it's difficult to escape the conclusion that blood pressure is being altered by the instrument that's measuring it. I would be surprised if there weren't some sort of homeostasis in the system attempting to react to the back-pressure caused by the cuff constricting the blood vessels.