Sphygmomanometer, otherwise known as a blood pressure monitor, is a tool that is used to measure human blood pressure. Measuring blood pressure is very important to prevent hypertension or high blood pressure.
With a sphygmomanometer, you can find out whether your blood pressure is normal or not. If it is too low or too high, it can cause a potentially more serious illness. Therefore it is important to regularly check your blood pressure.
Speaking of sphygmomanometers, there are three types of sphygmomanometers that you can know. Technological advances have made this blood pressure measuring device developed.
And now, as we all know, a sphygmomanometer is a medical kit that can be found in clinics, hospitals, and others in the health sector.
The types of sphygmomanometer that you can know are mercury sphygmomanometer which is the oldest sphygmomanometer, aneroid sphygmomanometer which is a sphygmomanometer without liquid, and digital sphygmomanometer which is today’s sphygmomanometer whose readings are digital.
To find out more about the three types of sphygmomanometers, you can see the following discussion.
1. Mercury Sphygmomanometer
The mercury sphygmomanometer is the most common type of sphygmomanometer used by most people. It is also a very early version of sphygmomanometer, which is operated very conventionally, measured by looking at the movement of the mercury.
This type of sphygmomanometer consists of a manually inflatable cuff attached to the measuring unit and a mercury tube for measurement.
The mercury sphygmomanometer works by placing the mercury tube in an upright and flat position so that the measurement is more accurate and the reading is easier to see.
Then, the patient will be wrapped in a cuff, and the officer will apply pressure to the patient’s arm. The pressure will automatically read the amount of blood pressure from the patient which will be channeled to the tube.
This mercury sphygmomanometer is very prone to damage or breakage, so it must be handled with extra care. If the tube of this mercury sphygmomanometer is broken, it will be very dangerous for the surrounding environment.
The advantage of this sphygmomanometer is that it is quite easy to use and if properly maintained, it can last a very long time.
The measurements from this device are also quite accurate, so there is no need for recalibration. Now, this type of mercury sphygmomanometer is no longer used by some countries, because of the danger of mercury if the tube breaks.
2. Aneroid Sphygmomanometer
The next type of sphygmomanometer is the aneroid sphygmomanometer. Aneroid means without liquid, so this measuring instrument does not use the liquid in its working process.
So this type of sphygmomanometer is a much safer sphygmomanometer compared to a mercury sphygmomanometer. The workings of the aneroid sphygmomanometer are almost the same as the mercury sphygmomanometer. It’s just that the difference is in the installation of the stethoscope on the cuff.
For aneroid sphygmomanometer, the cuff must be attached with a dial gauge and connected by a hose. Then, the measuring head will work to change the pressure from the cuff that is wrapped around the patient’s arm and then forwarded to be able to read.
Actually, there are various other types of aneroid sphygmomanometer, but the difference is only in how to use the aneroid sphygmomanometer.
For example, the type of pocket aneroid sphygmomanometer, palm aneroid sphygmomanometer, and others. This type of aneroid sphygmomanometer has also been used by many medical experts because it is considered safer than a mercury sphygmomanometer.
The advantages of an aneroid sphygmomanometer are that it is more practical, lightweight, and easy. However, the mechanism used by this type of sphygmomanometer is indeed quite complicated. Therefore, it requires careful treatment and use.
When going to use this sphygmomanometer, the user must first calibrate it so that the reading can be more accurate.
3. Digital Sphygmomanometer
As the name suggests, a digital sphygmomanometer is a sphygmomanometer that uses a sensor inside to measure blood pressure electronically.
The design of this sphygmomanometer is indeed smaller than the two types of sphygmomanometer previously mentioned.
Similar to the mercury sphygmomanometer and aneroid sphygmomanometer, this sphygmomanometer is also equipped with an inflatable cuff, but the difference between other sphygmomanometers is the procedure for reading and measuring.
This sphygmomanometer will take readings from arterial fluctuations so you can get quick measurement results.
This digital type sphygmomanometer is very suitable for home use because it is easy and fast and does not require special maintenance. However, the drawback is that this sphygmomanometer is not very accurate in reading pressure.
Those are the three types of sphygmomanometers that you can know. The sphygmomanometer is a very important tool in the world of medics. Always check your blood pressure to find out if the level is high or low.