fitnessASSIST

The importance of regularly monitoring blood pressure was highlighted recently when a Dutch international footballer collapsed during the half-time interval of a match for his club side.

Inter Milan star Wesley Sneijder, who helped Holland reach the World Cup final in the summer, passed out during their match against Brescia last Saturday and has since been diagnosed with anemia which is often linked to low blood pressure.

"Five minutes before the end of the first half I started shaking and felt pain in all my body, it was something I had never experienced before," he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

"I went into the dressing room and got sick and passed out briefly and I was very scared. They controlled my blood pressure and heart rate immediately.”

The incident shocked both the player and his teammates. Sneijder should recover fully following a period of rest but for a few short moments his collapse brought back memories of the tragic on-field deaths of footballers Marc Vivien-Foe, Phil O’Donnell and Antonio Puerta.

Inter Milan have yet to comment on the incident but the diagnosis of conditions like anemia can be helped by measuring blood pressure.

fitnessASSIST offer a large selection of blood pressure monitors including desktop monitors, upper arm monitors and wrist monitors.

Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood flowing against the walls of the arteries. Arterial blood pressure is constantly changing during the course of the heart’s cycle. The highest pressure in the cycle is named the systolic blood pressure the lowest is the diastolic blood pressure.

Systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings provide specific information regarding an individual's cardiovascular health. Abnormal levels of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure indicate possible risk and cause for developing more severe clinical diseases.

Blood pressure can change over a short period of time both positively and negatively, which reinforces the importance of regular blood pressure monitoring to ensure optimum health.