Brief historical review of blood pressure measurement and arterial hypertension treatment

Hypertension as a separate clinical unit was defined at the beginning of the twentieth century. The method of blood pressure measurement, conceived by Riva Rocci in 1905 and later mastered by Korotkov, remains essentially unchanged for almost a century. Throughout the twentieth century sphygmomanometry has contributed more than any other measurement technique to clinical practice in the study and treatment of cardiovascular pathology. However, contemporary and effective treatment of hypertension has begun in the second half of this century. In this paper methods for pulse measurement and blood pressure measurement from the beginning of human civilization to the modern age are presented, as well as the access to clinical importance and principles of hypertension treatment from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century.