Blood Pressure

Every so often I pen a blog that is shamelessly self-promotional and this is one of those moments. I am thrilled to announce the launch of our latest iteration of the category-changing Modular Diagnostic Station: the ADView 2. It’s an expandable, customizable, and amazingly affordable spot vital signs monitor for blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and SpO2.

Customer feedback, positive or negative, whether from a reseller of our products or a consumer, has truly helped make ADC a better company. And though we all love when a customer heaps praise on our products or services, it is the criticisms that drive change in a company responsive to its customers’ needs. We learn something new every day.

There’s never a wrong time to prioritize health, but Men’s Health Week offers a perfect opportunity to focus on prevention and education. New data from CDC show a slight rise in death rates in the U.S., the first increase in years. For men, heart disease remains the top cause of death, with high blood pressure (also called hypertension) a major risk factor.

May is High Blood Pressure Awareness Month, a great time to share news about blood pressure measurement and hypertension. We discuss study results comparing readings from noninvasive blood pressure monitors to those obtained by manual measurement, along with a new meta-analysis that confirms what most would agree is a logical conclusion: lower blood pressure is better.

Two recent meta-analysis studies, one in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and one in the International Journal of Cardiology, examined the correlation between green and black tea consumption and lower blood pressure values, finding not just a strong association but suggesting that higher consumption levels produced increasingly greater health benefits.

Over the years, the importance of maintaining a healthy blood pressure has become increasingly apparent. While monitoring in the doctor’s office provides a snapshot, home monitoring is an ideal method of seeing the big picture. The trick, of course, is making sure that it is done right! So how do you ensure that blood pressure is taken properly at home?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and it’s likely we’re all touched in some way by this terrible disease. Thanks to the American Cancer Society and dramatic improvements in cancer research, treatment, and early detection, millions of women are surviving breast cancer today. But that research takes money. Find out how ADC is taking part in the effort.

On average, it takes three compressions of a manual sphyg bulb to inflate an adult cuff to 200mmHg, the typical target on most patients. But for smaller cuffs (small adult, child, and infant) it takes far fewer compressions. Care must be used to prevent accidental over-inflation, which can risk patient discomfort or even injury, as well as damage to the manometer.

IFU’s or Instructions for Use, sometimes called Owner’s Manuals or simply Operating Instructions, are everywhere. From the one-page sheet that comes with a new table lamp to the one-pound tome included with your new flat-screen TV, there’s no escaping them. And when you’re talking about medical devices, the importance of reading the IFU’s can't be overstated.