Significance of SBC Seal
In order to contribute to population’s better life quality, the Brazilian Cardiology Society created the SBC Approval Seal. It is the guaranty that you are purchasing differentiated products since its conception that help to prevent cardiovascular diseases (cholesterol, hypertension or high pressure, heart failure, etc.) An “approved” product strictly follows the criteria defined by SBC Approval Seal Committee, which are based on national and international standards developed by important world bodies, such as: AHA – American Heart Association, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) and the Brazilian Cardiology Society itself. Upon acquiring an “approved product”, you have the guaranty that you did the right choice, contributing for the promotion and maintenance of your health.
Importance of Residential Monitoring
Several studies show that the blood pressure monitoring at home has a critical role in the control of the hypertension levels and, when it is carried out together with healthy habits, it acts positively in the prevention of strokes.
It was evidenced by the studies that this monitoring, if carried out in a systematized manner, aids the anti hypertensive therapeutic assessment, helping the physician to adjust the medicine doses and promoting the adherence to the anti-hypertensive therapeutic, as the patients commit themselves to view the results of their measurements more often.
The home monitoring of the blood pressure accomplished by patient himself at home or work is also an effective method to make the clinical distinction between effective arterial hypertension and the white coat hypertension, in which patients have a high arterial pressure when it is measured at the physician’s office or at a medical clinic.
Digital Pressure Devices
There are currently in the market low cost digital devices, provided with clinical certifications and medical society's certifications, which make their use reliable in the clinical practice. Such devices accomplish the reading by oscillometry and convert the values acquired to artery pressure by each manufacturer’s proprietary algorithms. Thus, it is extremely important to recommend reputable manufacturers with a large experience in the product, as they are continuously improving their algorithms.
Among the existent types of devices, those that make the measurement in the arms have a better performance and higher validation levels, despite the fact there are also validated and recommendable wrist devices. Upon defining the type of device to be used, one must consider that the wrist devices may present some restrictions to old patients, mainly due to the increase of the arterial rigidity, what impairs the measurement at the wrist.
For the proper use of the devices, one must always remember the importance of the strap size (either for the wrist or arm), which must be suitable to patient’s circumference, and that it is at the same height as the heart upon its use.
