Blood Pressure Check

To measure blood pressure, your doctor uses an instrument call a "sphygmomanometer," more often referred to as a blood pressure cuff. The cuff is wrapped around your upper arm and inflated to stop the flow of blood in your artery. As the cuff is slowly deflated, your doctor uses a stethoscope to listen to the blood pumping through the artery. These pumping sounds register on a gauge attached to the cuff. The first pumping sound your doctor hears is recorded as the systolic pressure, and the last sound is the diastolic pressure.

Physical Exam Frequency

Even if you feel fine, it still important to see your health care provider regularly to check for potential problems. Certain symptoms such as high blood sugar and high cholesterol levels often do not produce any symptoms until advanced disease has occurred.