Blood Pressure

From Marfan Friends World Wiki

The pressure of blood in the arteries. The heart is a pump that beats by contracting and then relaxing. The pressure of the blood flowing through the arteries varies at different times in the heartbeat cycle. The highest pressure (known as systolic pressure) occurs when the beat or contraction of the heart forces your blood around the circulation. The lowest pressure (diastolic pressure) occurs between heartbeats. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (abbreviated to ?mmHg?). A blood pressure reading gives two numbers, for example 140/85. The first number is the systolic pressure and the second is the diastolic pressure.

A Marfan patient may be given drugs called beta-blockers to slow down the rate of aortic enlargement and decrease the risk of dissection by lowering the blood pressure and decreasing the forcefulness of the heartbeat. The most commonly used beta-blockers in Marfan patients are propranolol (Inderal) and atenolol (Tenormin). Patients who are allergic to beta-blockers may be given a calcium blocker such as verapamil.