background: cardiac output (co) is the total volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute and is a function of heart rate and stroke volume. co is one of the most important parameters for monitoring cardiac function, estimating global oxygen delivery and understanding the causes of high blood pressure. hence, measuring co has always been a matter of interest to researchers and clinicians. sev...

For more 20 years, noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitors have been widely used in operating rooms and critical care units to closely monitor blood pressure in patients of all ages. Despite the widespread use of automated blood pressure monitors, clinicians continue to deliberate over the accuracy and reliability of automated NIBP devices compared to other methods of blood pressure determin...

End-organ damage associated with hypertension is more closely related to ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) than clinic or casual blood pressure measurements. ABP measurements give better prediction of clinical outcome than clinic or casual blood pressure measurements. The technique of ABP monitoring (ABPM) is specialised; validated monitors and appropriate quality control measures should be used....

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is becoming widely accepted as a clinically useful tool for assessing cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients, although it is not generally recognized for reimbursement in the United States. There are now six major prospective studies, all of which have shown that ABPM gives a better prediction of risk than conventional clinic measurement. A coro...

Home blood pressure monitoring Shah and colleagues found patients with heart failure who lived in areas of socioeconomic deprivation were less likely than those in more affluent areas to be treated with recommended beta blockers. 1 We recently investigated use of home blood pressure (BP) monitoring in stroke patients registered at a deprived inner city general practice in Lambeth. In March 2008...

IN this issue Pickering and Harshfield review the use of invasive and noninvasive arterial blood pressure monitoring in ambulant humans. Their review is well balanced and comprehensive but is limited to the discussion of patients with hypertension. Although it is true that the Framingham Study, the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program, and the insurance industry data all show the powerf...

purpose: patterned breathing allows standardized serial measurements of heart rate variability and baroreflex indices. the slow breathing augments these parameters, and regular exercises, including yoga breathing practices with even respiratory rates have long-term beneficial effects in cardiovascular diseases. the role of temporization of breathing phases, i.e. the ratio of expiration to inspi...