Health Education

“Cerebrovascular disease” and “heart diseases” account for the top 2 and top 4 ranking among the top 10 causes of mortality in Taiwan, which are mainly  due to the arteriosclerosis caused by  thickened vascular wall or occlusion inside blood vessels.

Arteriosclerosis is a phenomenon taking place as one ages; nonetheless the individual differentiation occurs vary drastically. Its development is closely related to the lifestyles of each person, including dieting habits or lack of exercise. To avoid the coming of critical disease, it is necessary to discover and treat the disease early.

The examination does not require fasting or other special preparation but only takes about 5 minutes. You can accept this examination in relaxation. It is advised to wear loose cloths. The measurement is similar to measuring blood pressure by measuring the blood pressure of the four limbs concurrently.

Pre-Examination Instructions

• The subject shall take off thick clothing and only leave one thin cloth on.
• Please take off or expose the heels if the subject is wearing socks or silk stockings.
• The subject may not move the body or talk but keep quite during the measurement.

Examination Procedures

• The subject shall lie down on the diagnosis bed for the staff to tie the cuff for measuring blood pressure.
• The physician will explain the examination results and provide guidance and suggestions related to the disease and lifestyles.

Measurement Results

The examination can test PWV (Pulse Wave Velocity) and ABI (Ankle-Brachial Index) to further find out the vascular sclerosis and level of occlusion. On the other hand, pulse wave diagram and other information can be applied to conduct integrated diagnosis for arteriosclerosis.

• PWV (Pulse Wave Velocity): Known as pulse wave velocity because the pulse moves from the blood pumped out by the heart, where the speed delivering to the hand and feet through blood vessel will generate the fastest pulse wave as the vascular sclerosis increases. Hence the PWV test reveals vascular sclerosis.
• ABI (Ankle-Brachial Index): Known as the blood pressure ratio between the upper arm and ankle. The test of ABI shows the level of vascular occlusion. Usually healthy people will have higher blood pressure on the ankle than the blood pressure on the upper arm. However if the feet arteries deposit due to viscous substances such as fat and makes blood circulation poor, the blood pressure of the ankle will be lower than the blood pressure on the upper arm, and hence the ABI value will be lower. The normal value is between 0.9 ~ 1.3.