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Learn about High Blood Pressure
the fun and easy way.     

Sphygmomanometers
Whoa!  What the heck is a sphygmomanometer?
(You really slip that one in without warning.)
Sorry about that!  The sphygmomanometer is the pressure guage attached via tubing to the blood pressure cuff which allows your doctor to read the pressure being exerted on your arm (and therefore brachial artery within the arm).  The sphygmomanometer must be accurate in order to be sure that your blood pressure readings are being taken accurately.  This is why you should bring your home Blood Pressure Monitor into your doctor's office to confirm it's accuracy and compare it with the readings your doctor gets on you in the office. 
Which is more important,
the Top Number or the Bottom Number?
I'm sorry, but those terms are no longer acceptable to be used by you if you have come this far.
 Try again.....
Which is more important, the Systolic or Diastolic Blood Pressure?
See, that wasn't so hard...
Another good question
(no wonder you were smart enough to find this site)
The answer is that both are important and both need to be controlled.  It used to be believed that the diastolic pressure was more important.  Studies have long since convincingly demonstrated improved outcomes, especially in the elderly, when systolic blood pressure is brought under control, even when diastolic blood pressure is normal.  This condition is called "Systolic Hypertension" in the elderly.  Systolic blood pressure tends to increase with age, but this does not mean that the increase in blood pressure is acceptable or safe.  Occasionally we see it in younger people also.
Whom are you calling Elderly? (Is this a question or a threat?)
Please remember that we are all professionals here and therefore deserve some immunity from political correctness.
If Medicare can define elderly at 65 years of wisdom and maturity, so can we.  Worrying over labels can raise one's blood pressure.  Soon you will learn why that is not good for you.