Vital signs are indicators of your body’s basic functions and health. The main ones are body temperature, heart rate, rate of breathing (respiratory rate), blood pressure, and the amount of oxygen circulating in your blood (oxygen saturation). They can be measured both in the doctor’s clinic and at home.
Measurements of vital signs are important to provide critical information about your overall health. Vital signs provide valuable insights into what is going on in your body. They play a critical role in proactive healthcare management, helping your doctor provide you with the specific health intervention that is tailored to your needs.
Changes in vital signs
Several factors can affect your vital signs. These include being sick, taking certain medications, or your emotional state. Your vital signs may also change as you grow older or experience lifestyle changes. For example, blood pressure medicines called beta blockers may cause the heart rate to slow. Similarly, the amount of salt in your diet and stress are some of the factors that can affect your blood pressure.
There is a range of what is considered normal readings of a vital sign. Some people may also have readings that lie outside the established normal range without any problems. For example, a person may have blood pressure readings that are less than 120/80 mmHg all the time, and this is normal for them. It is therefore important that your baseline measurements are established and recorded so that any changes can be identified.
Early detection and timely intervention
Monitoring vital signs during routine visits to your family doctor enables your doctor to identify abnormalities or trends indicative of underlying health conditions. A noteworthy example is hypertension, notoriously known as a “silent killer” as no warning signs appear until blood pressure is very high.
A whopping 46% of adults with hypertension are unaware that they have the condition! Regularly tracking your blood pressure allows for early detection of elevated blood pressure and timely intervention. Once lifestyle changes or medication is prescribed, continuous monitoring will tell whether the intervention is working or a change is needed.
Your role in vital signs monitoring
You too can play a role in monitoring your vital signs at home. By being actively involved in monitoring your vital signs and tracking changes over time, you will develop a deeper understanding of your health status and the medications you are taking, therefore making it more likely that you will adhere to treatment plans.
This knowledge will also make you feel more empowered to manage your health and give you the confidence to actively take part in making decisions regarding your health with your doctor.
Recording vital signs is now easy
Innovations in technology have made both the measuring and recording of vital signs much easier now than ever before. Numerous wearable devices have been developed for flexible and continuous vital sign monitoring. All you need to do is strap them on, and you’re good to go.
Data from these devices can then be manually recorded or fed into the many apps available for consistent data monitoring. When your vital signs are consistently recorded, your doctor will have access to data that will allow them to remotely monitor your condition if the need arises. This allows the convenience of timely adjustments to treatment plans, reduces the need for in-person visits, and improves your accessibility to healthcare services.
Download ConnectDr today to start monitoring your vitals and accessing your health records on the go.
