From Compensation to Imbalance: The "Gray" Warning Signs of Sub-health and Practical Applications of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

If we explain this "compensatory period" together with the currently proposed "sub-health," it becomes easier to understand. Both the "compensatory period" and "sub-health" are intermediate states of the body. If we use colors to represent "health, sub-health, and disease," then white represents health, gray represents sub-health, and black represents disease. Compared to white and black, gray is an intermediate color. With adjustment, it can become either white or black. Once it becomes black, it's very difficult to return to white. Healthy people should also regularly measure their blood pressure. By observing changes in blood pressure, they can promptly understand minor ailments and fatigue in their bodies, such as myocardial ischemia, arteriosclerosis, early hypertension, adrenal medullary hyperplasia, pheochromocytoma, and other diseases. Regularly measuring blood pressure and adjusting sub-health states based on blood pressure readings is a convenient, easy, non-invasive, and painless scientific method that is worth promoting. A Short Story – A Birthday Gift for My Husband My husband's 40th birthday is in two days. What should I get him? Xiaolian, his wife, walked into the mall's lobby. There were high-end clothes, exquisite leather shoes, men's razors, and famous cigarettes and wines… Xiaolian couldn't decide what to buy for a long time. Following the flow of people, Xiaolian went up to the second floor. The fine watches caught her eye. "How about I buy my husband a Swiss-made automatic watch?" But when she saw the price, she quickly dismissed the idea. On the third floor, she considered buying some fabric, but worried that clothes made by individual tailors wouldn't be as crisp as those produced on assembly lines.

Finally, she went to the health products counter. The salesperson recommended a newly produced electronic blood pressure monitor. The salesperson said, "This electronic blood pressure monitor is especially suitable for home health care. After attaching the cuff to the arm, just press the switch, and the person's blood pressure and heart rate will be displayed. In case of abnormalities, the monitor will also provide voice prompts, essentially giving you a family doctor. The price is also affordable for working-class families." After listening to the salesperson's introduction and looking at the product in her hand, Xiaolian thought about how her 40-year-old husband had been experiencing frequent headaches and yawning for some unknown reason lately. She wondered if something was wrong with his health. She had urged him to see a doctor, but he always promised not to.

Therefore, Xiaolian thought that nothing was better than giving him the gift of health, so this year's birthday gift for her husband was—an electronic blood pressure monitor. From then on, Xiaolian's family had a family doctor. Every morning and evening, the couple checked each other's blood pressure. They were surprised to find that her husband's blood pressure was very abnormal, sometimes 130/90 mmHg, sometimes 90/60 mmHg. They hadn't noticed any problems with his blood pressure before. Was the monitor inaccurate? Or was there a problem with the measurement method? Xiaolian and her husband immediately went to the hospital. After examining the patient, the doctor said, "Sir, your fundus already shows early lesions, such as a slight change in the ratio of arteries to veins, which is a sign of early arteriosclerosis. As for your blood pressure, it's 140/85 mmHg, which is borderline hypertension." The doctor added, "Unstable blood pressure and yawning indicate cardiovascular problems. Due to poor vasoconstriction, transient spasms occur, leading to reduced blood supply and elevated blood pressure. Brain cells react most strongly to oxygen deprivation, hence the symptom of yawning. Yawning is actually a form of deep breathing; the body relieves oxygen deprivation in brain cells through yawning..." The doctor also gave Xiaolian several precautions for home blood pressure monitoring:

1. If blood pressure remains elevated for a week or longer, consult a doctor for adjustment and treatment.

2. Keep a record of blood pressure measurements, including regular measurements at morning, noon, and evening, as well as measurements taken at irregular times, so the doctor can monitor changes in blood pressure.

3. If blood pressure exceeds 140/90 mmHg when measured at home, consult a doctor.

The accuracy of a blood pressure monitor should be calibrated by a metrology department every 6 to 12 months.

4. The accuracy of a blood pressure monitor should be calibrated by a metrology department every 6 to 12 months.