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A Historical Journey on the Physiology of Blood Pressure Monitoring

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The Handbook of Cuffless Blood Pressure Monitoring

Abstract

The arterial pulse has been the most basic sign of life for centuries. The radial pulse palpation has been pictured in the crest of the Royal Academy College of Physicians since 1628. The history of the arterial pulse entails the discovery of pulse, blood pressure and/or flow, and their measurements. This chapter begins with a review the description of the pulse and the related discoveries of pulse and blood pressure and/or flow since the ancient period until the late 1970s where the concept of haemodynamics and importance of pressure and flow pulsatility as well as methods to analyse the pulse in both time and frequency domains gained wider acceptance. Human aging is associated with an increase in blood pressure, particularly systolic and pulse pressures, and this is attributable to the loss of distensibility of the human aorta of which its function is to cushion pulsation from the ejecting heart. Stiffening of the major elastic arteries due to aging will cause the speed of the travelling pulse to be higher, and the reflected pulse wave from periphery to occur earlier, therefore will increase the amplitude of pressure. To understand how arterial haemodynamics is altered by the ageing process and cardiovascular disease is vital and this involves accurate measurement of central (or aortic) pressure. Finally, the chapter briefly considers the demand and technology to develop cuffless blood pressure measuring devices. This development could allow a device that can measure blood pressure accurately, with ease, comfortably and continuously.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Audrey Adji & Michael F. O’Rourke

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Audrey Adji

  3. Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Michael F. O’Rourke

Authors
  1. Audrey Adji
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  2. Michael F. O’Rourke
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aktiia SA, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Josep Solà

  2. Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM, Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique), Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Ricard Delgado-Gonzalo

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Adji, A., O’Rourke, M.F. (2019). A Historical Journey on the Physiology of Blood Pressure Monitoring. In: Solà, J., Delgado-Gonzalo, R. (eds) The Handbook of Cuffless Blood Pressure Monitoring. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24701-0_3

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