The Daily Bulletin Archive

May is blood pressure education month! Know your numbers! About 74.5 million people in the United States have high blood pressure, or hypertension, and 90 percent of adults 45-64 years old will develop hypertension. Nearly one in five people have high blood pressure and are unaware of it. Hypertension increases the risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, and stroke, the third-leading cause of death. Take an active role in your health and get your blood pressure checked regularly.

During the month of May, Weigel Health Center will be offering their two ambulatory blood pressure monitors to interested staff of Buffalo State. However, we are only able to accommodate the first 20 people that contact us for an appointment.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a technique used to estimate true blood pressure by wearing a blood pressure monitor for 24 hours. The monitor can be worn on a belt or in a pouch but you will have a blood pressure cuff on your non-dominant arm for 24 hours. It is programmed to take readings every 20 minutes when awake and every 60 minutes when asleep. At the end of testing, the results are downloaded into a computer and the results will be printed for you. We will not be responsible for treatment or follow-through on your results; we ask that you follow up with your personal doctor accordingly. In addition, we are not using the results of any tests performed for any  purpose. The readings are very reliable, accurate within 5 mmHg of readings taken with a manual blood pressure cuff.

When wearing the cuff, it is important to know that your arm must remain relatively still while the cuff is inflating. You are unable to shower with the monitor. Wear loose-fitting clothing on the day of your appointment. The cuff will be placed on your non-dominant arm.

Anyone interested in ambulatory  blood pressure monitoring during May should call the Weigel Health Center at (716) 878-6711 and ask to speak to Julie Nichols, one of the nurse practitioners.We look forward to seeing you and answering any questions you may have!