On Wednesday 28 December 2005 18:54, Martin Vlietstra wrote: > When the EU issued its metrication directive in 1980, it effectively said > that subject to a few exceptions, SI was to be used for all "commercial, > public administration, public health and public safety purposes". Apart > from the exceptions that Mrs Thatcher wrangled out of the EU Commission, > one of the exceptions was the use of mm Hg for measuring the pressure of > bodily fluids. Clearly they took the view that since this particular > practice was so deeply ingrained in the medical profession and was > universal across all member states, it would be prudent to leave it alone.
I have seen discussion that, when we quit using mercury manometers to measure blood pressure, we should also quit using the millimeter of mercury. They were also discussing alternatives to the Korotkov method. I've tried taking my blood pressure with a Korotkov device, and it's pretty hard to read the position of the falling needle while listening for the sound. Do any of you know where to get a sphygmomanometer that displays in kilopascals? phma
