How to Measure Blood Pressure
How To Measure Blood Pressure
Do you know how to measure blood pressure? More and more people are becoming interested in the topic.
A machine called a sphygmomanometer is used to measure blood pressure. The machine has three parts- the sphygmomanometer, the sphygmomanometer cuff and the inflation bulb.
To measure a patients blood pressure, the cuff is wrapped around their upper arm with it laying flat and upward on a table or flat surface; the cuff is secured in place by a piece of Velcro. The doctor or nurse then places a stethoscope on the lower part of the arm just above the brachial artery. The inflation bulb is then pumped to 180 while the doctor or nurse uses the stethoscope to listen to the heartbeat. By using the pump to inflate the cuff, it cuts of the blood flow to the artery.
Once the meter reaches 180 the valve on the cuff is slowly released and the first set of numbers that the doctor or nurse counts is the systolic (or top number), the second set of numbers that is heard is the diastolic (or bottom number); the process of taking a blood pressure with the sphygmomanometer is done in five phases.
The first phase is where the actual blood pressure is taken as in the steps above.
By:
About the Author:
