Some
eye clinics today overlook BP test during eye examination. Sphygmomanometer is
an instrument used in measuring the blood pressure. It helps in the diagnosis of
hypertension and hypotension. Eye clinics today overlook
this test and go on with visual acuity test, refraction and the rest of them.
Patients
walk into your clinic unaware of some asymptomatic diseases or some problems they are
experiencing which cause is not known to them. A test such as blood pressure
test should not be overlooked as it could help save a life.
I had a patient who came to visit me at my
clinic for his routine eye check and I decided to check his BP before anything
just for formality sake, checking his BP, I found it to be as low as 80/30 mmHg. I checked
again just because I couldn't believe it as he wasn't
showing any symptoms of being hypotensive which would have include nausea, dizziness,
lack of concentration, pale skin, blurry vision etc. and him never mention it
to me. I asked
him to go for a medical check up and the
result came in that he has low blood volume of about 3% which could be
life threatening and he had to get admitted.
Hypotension(low blood pressure) can be life threatening as it
accompanies several diseases like endocrine problems (such as hypothyroidism, parathyroid
disease, and adrenal insufficiency), heart problems (such as bradycardia, problems with heart valves, heart attack, and
heart failures), severe septic infection, neurally mediated hypotension etc.
Hypertension which is the other side of it, is
an increase in the blood pressure above 140/90 mmHg. This condition can also
lead to several vascular diseases such as aneurysm, artery damage. It could also
cause kidney failures, heart failure, dementia, stroke, transient ischemic
attack etc.
You
can save a patient with a test as simple as BP test,
this should never be overlooked as a lot of illness are quite asymptomatic
which makes them difficult to diagnose or could even show its symptoms when
it is too late.
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