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Level of blood pressure in people of Chinese origin living in Britain

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 17, pages 581–583 (2003)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 01 December 2003

For the last 17 years, I have been running a general medical clinic at China Town in Manchester mostly during weekends while I was working at Tameside as a Consultant Physician. My patients are almost exclusively of Chinese origin. They come to see me of their own accord for all sorts of complaints ranging from infections, skin troubles, allergies and anxiety to body pains, malignancy and rare tropical diseases. A disease process of any body system, digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular, genitourinary, sensory, dermatological, haematological, neurological, endocrinological and musculoskeletal, could be involved. Many of my patients speak very little or no English. My usual procedure of consultation is to let the patient sit down and relax. They will voice their concerns in their own words (in Chinese). I will ask the patient relevant questions regarding the complaints, including medications. This normally takes 5 – 10 min. A physical examination then follows, including a routine blood pressure measurement for all patients aged 16 years and over. I will then discuss a working diagnosis with the patient in words that are easily understood and, if appropriate, a private prescription will be issued. Some patients were referred to laboratory tests, radiological examinations or specialist consultations. All records are in English.

Blood pressure was taken by me over the right arm of the seated patient with a mercury sphygmomanometer. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was recorded as the first sound audible with a stethoscope and the diastolic blood pressure (DBF) at the disappearance of the Korotkov sounds (phase V).1

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References

  1. O'Brien ET, Beevers DG, Marshall HJ . ABC of Hypertension, 3rd edn. BMJ Publishing Group: London, UK, 1995.

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  2. Liu ZQ, Mou JJ . The Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertension. Beijing Medical College and Beijing Union Medical College: Beijing, Peoples Republic of China, 1998.

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Acknowledgements

I am extremely grateful to my wife HII Wan Octavia, Dip. Math. (Open), who helped me in the difficult job of organising medical notes and mathematical calculations.

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  1. Tameside General Hospital, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, UK

    H-H Horatio Wan

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  1. H-H Horatio Wan
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Correspondence to H-H Horatio Wan.

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Horatio Wan, HH. Level of blood pressure in people of Chinese origin living in Britain. J Hum Hypertens 17, 581–583 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001585

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