... disease in men, and 12% of such deaths in women are associated to raised blood pressure (National Heart Forum, 2002). To effectively monitor blood pressure, it is first necessary to understand the basic physiological principles that regulate such a function. Blood pressure may be defined as the force applied by blood flow, on the resisting walls of blood vessels. This pressure varies within different areas of the circulatory system, with pressure being highest in the aorta, and gradually decreasing as blood is pumped on through the large arteries, small arteries, arterioles, capillaries and eventually the veins (Walsh, 1999). Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers, e.g. 140/80. This is due to the fact that there are two phases within a single heart beat. Systolic pressure is the highest arterial blood pressure of a cardiac cycle, and occurs during the period when the left ventricle of the heart contracts, and blood is ...

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