How Do Health Care Professionals Measure My Blood Pressure
First, a health care professional wraps an inflatable cuff around your arm. The health care professional then inflates the cuff, which gently tightens on your arm. The cuff has a gauge on it that will measure your blood pressure.
The health care professional will slowly let air out of the cuff while listening to your pulse with a stethoscope and watching the gauge. This process is quick and painless. If using a digital or automatic blood pressure cuff, the health care professional will not need to use a stethoscope.
The gauge uses a unit of measurement called millimeters of mercury to measure the pressure in your blood vessels.
If you have high blood pressure, talk to your health care team about steps to take to control your blood pressure;to lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.
Use this list of questions to ask your health care team pdf icon;to help you manage your blood pressure.
Welcome To Our Home Monitoring Resource Hub
Here you can find resources for home monitoring, see our simple steps to get an accurate reading and make the most out of home monitoring.
Plus,;read more about why home monitoring can be helpful and how to choose a monitor.
The first step to managing your blood pressure is to Know Your Numbers! Watch our video to see how to measure your blood pressure at home and use our tips and resources below to check your own blood pressure at home.
Working With Your Doctor Or Nurse
You wont usually make a decision about treatment based solely on the readings you have taken at home. But they may find it useful to know what youre blood pressure is like when youre away from the clinic.
Talk to your doctor or nurse before you start to measure your blood pressure at home. They advise you on when to measure your blood pressure and how often, and this can help you both to be clear about what you are doing and why.
Bring your records with you to your appointments so they can use it to review your treatment.
Make sure your monitor is suitable and you know how to use it
It is a good idea to bring your monitor to the appointment so that your doctor or nurse can check that it is validated and accurate, that it fits properly, and that you know how to use it. They can show you if youre not sure.
Read more
For further information on home monitoring, download our booklet,;Measuring your BP at home .;
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How To Monitor Blood Pressure
This article was medically reviewed by Shari Forschen, NP, MA. Shari Forschen is a Registered Nurse at Sanford Health in North Dakota. She received her Family Nurse Practitioner Master’s from the University of North Dakota and has been a nurse since 2003.There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 85,177 times.
Research suggests that you may not notice symptoms of high blood pressure at first, but it may still be damaging your heart and blood vessels. Your blood pressure is the force your blood exerts on your blood vessels.XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world’s leading hospitalsGo to source Your blood pressure may be low, normal, or high. Experts say that untreated high blood pressure may lead to serious health problems like heart attack, stroke, or kidney problems.XTrustworthy SourceMedlinePlusCollection of medical information sourced from the US National Library of MedicineGo to source On the other hand, low blood pressure may cause dizziness, weakness, fainting, or injury.XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world’s leading hospitalsGo to source Fortunately, you may be able to avoid these complications if you monitor your blood pressure to help you catch a problem early.
How Often Should You Take Your Blood Pressure
Scinetist from Harvard Medical School recommend you to take your blood pressure twice a day for a week. The first reading should take place early in the morning, before taking any medication, and the second, later in the evening. Then, keep on doing it twice a month, unless your doctor advice you differently.
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Ways How To Take Blood Pressure Using Digital And Manual Equipment
Tripboba.com – Before you learn how to take blood pressure, make sure you know what numbers in your measuring instrument mean. The result of blood pressure measurement comes in two different readings.
The first reading or top number in a reading indicates your systolic pressure. While the second reading or the bottom is called a diastolic number.
Let’s say, for example, the blood pressure written on the measuring instrument is 117/80 mm Hg. In this case, your systolic pressure is 117 and the diastolic pressure is 80.
If you intend to check your blood pressure at home, it’s important to learn how to take blood pressure first. This article will help you! We will share with you a useful step-by-step guide on how to take blood pressure using manual and digital blood pressure instruments.
Stethoscope Usage And Korotkoff Sounds
The stethoscope is used on bare skin so that a clients clothing does not affect the sounds. The stethoscope does not make sounds louder; it simply blocks out extraneous noises so you can better hear the Korotkoff sounds. These sounds are heard through a stethoscope applied over the brachial artery when the blood pressure cuff is deflating. You will not hear anything when you first place the stethoscope over the brachial artery, because unobstructed blood flow is silent. The Korotkoff sounds appear after you inflate the cuff and then begin to deflate the cuff. The Korotkoff sounds are the result of the turbulent blood caused by the inflated cuff compressing the artery and oscillations of the arterial wall when the heart beats during cuff deflation.
Here are a few tips:
- Use a high quality stethoscope with durable, thick tubing. Avoid stethoscopes with long tubing because this can distort sounds.
- Ensure quiet surroundings so that you can better hear the Korotkoff sounds.
- Make sure that the slope of the stethoscope earpieces point forward or toward your nose.
- Use a stethoscope that has both bell and diaphragm capacity. See Figure 5.4 for bell and diaphragm.
Figure 5.4: Stethoscope with bell and diaphragm
Film clip 5.2: Opening and closing the bell and diaphragm
Alternatively, if viewing textbook as a pdf, use this link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/rp_4h-tCmvs?rel=0
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Before Checking Your Blood Pressure
- Find a quiet place to check your blood pressure. You will need to listen for your heartbeat.
- Make sure that you are comfortable and relaxed with a recently emptied bladder .
- Roll up the sleeve on your arm or remove any tight-sleeved clothing.
- Rest in a chair next to a table for 5 to 10 minutes. Your arm should rest comfortably at heart level. Sit up straight with your back against the chair, legs uncrossed. Rest your forearm on the table with the palm of your hand facing up.
How To Interpret Your Blood Pressure Measurements
Your blood pressure measures how much pressure is going against your blood vessels as your heart beats.
The top number measures how much pressure is against your vessels when the heart is contracting. And the bottom number measures how much pressure is against your vessels when your heart is relaxing.;Our blood pressure can change throughout the day. It often rises if we are feeling stressed, anxious, drink caffeine or have pain. These transient rises arent usually dangerous to us.;
What matters most is what our blood pressure averages throughout the day.;
So one high reading doesnt mean you necessarily have hypertension. This is why taking your pressures regularly and following the above 5 steps to getting an accurate reading is so important to discovering what your average blood pressure is.;
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Heres How To Take Blood Pressure Readings Step By Step Manually
You must be wondering how can you check your blood pressure manually without using any equipment. Just in case if you can recall whenever you visit a doctors clinic he can check your blood pressure by putting a little pressure on your wrist with his fingers.
However, this method does not give you an exact reading but it will give you an idea about your BP.
Steps to take blood pressure step by step manually:
It is better if you go to a nearby clinic to check your blood pressure instead of taking just an idea from noting your pulse.
Some Facts related to Blood Pressure:
- The normal blood range is 120/80 for systolic and diastolic readings if you are not on any medications.
- Getting different reading after different activities such as eating, exercising, and even your emotions is a normal thing.
- One high BP reading does not mean you are having a blood pressure-related issue. It can be due to your recent activities as well.
- Blood pressure can be controlled by taking proper medications regularly.
- You should not take high or low blood pressure readings casually, consult a physician.
Difference between Hypertension and Hypotension
Hypertension:
Manual Blood Pressure Readings
Blood can only be heard through a stethoscope if it is turbulent. As the cuff is inflated, the artery is compressed, making the blood flow through the artery turbulent. When the artery is completely closed, there is no blood flow and no sound. As pressure in the cuff is reduced, the point at which the artery is open just enough to let the blood pass, is the systolic blood pressure.
This is detected by turbulent blood flow heard through the stethoscope. As pressure in the cuff is further reduced, the vessel will once again be completely open and non-turbulent. At this point, no more sound is heard and diastolic blood pressure has been reached.
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How To Take Blood Pressure Properly
According to the self measurement of blood pressure method it is recommended that you measure it three times a day for 3 days before the visit to your doctor to assess the evolution: Right upon waking up before breakfast and taking medication, before lunch, before dinner. In this article we will teach you which the right steps to take the blood pressure with greater reliability are. The most important element to take blood pressure is a sphygmomanometer. In this OneHowTo article, we show you exactly how to take blood pressure.
Take it on the left or right arm and . Unless your doctor or nurse specifically tells you to take one or the other.
The first blood pressure measurement must be the first thing in the morning upon waking. This measurment is important because you are completely at rest. Thus, none of the pressure is due to exercise or daily activities.
Blood pressure should always be measured before taking any medication, we must choose a suitable place for taking blood pressure. It should be quiet with a table that allows us to put everything you need and clearly see the screen of your device.
Obese people need to buy a larger cuff. Once well positioned begin to measure blood pressure, activating our meter.
This process must be repeated 3 times leaving a rest period of about 2 minutes. When we have three blood pressure results, you have a good idea of what your blood pressure reading is.
How To Take Orthostatic Blood Pressure
Orthostatic hypotension is a medical term for the decrease in systolic and diastolic pressure withing three minutes of the pactient standing as compared with blood pressure taken while sitted. For taking orthistatic blood pressure using a cuff you will have to follow the steps ennuerated above, but also repeat the reading after standing 3 minutes. Dont forget about the pulse rate measurements too.
It is also important to:
- Take your blood pressure twice a day first in the morning, before breakfast but never right after you wake up and then in the evening. Compare the measurements to see how your blood pressure fluctuates after a day of work.
- Always record you readings and inform your doctor on the values you get. From time to time pay his or her a visit and check your measurements against theirs.
Learn that there are various ways to check your blood pressure at home. Now that you have discovered the essential steps concerning how to take blood pressure with cuff correctly, lets take a look at less popular or even unefficient ways to do it.
- How to take blood pressure with fingers
Unlike the popular belief that blood pressure can be determined by using your fingers, such measurement is totally inneffectual. On the other hand, you can use your fingers to check your pulse. Place your first and second fingertips on your arteries and as soon as you have felt your pulse begin counting the beats for 60 seconds.
- How to take blood pressure on leg
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Instructions For Case Studies
In our case studies you will be able to use a blood pressure cuff simulator. Using it is similar to using an actual cuff. Follow these steps: 1) Inflate the cuff by pressing the ‘Inflate Cuff’ button several times 2) Deflate the cuff by selecting one of the ‘Open Valve’ settings 3) Close the valve 4) Read the blood pressure values while listening for Korotkoff Sounds 5) Switch between dial and mercury sphygmomanometers 6) Please note that the image to the left is not a working simulation. It is an image for instructions only. Use our cases for the working simulation.
Follow These 5 Steps When Checking Your Blood Pressure:
Its also recommended to try to check your pressures at around the same time each day.;
Download your personal blood pressure log;here.;
Record all numbers in a blood pressure log so you can show them to your doctor. Make sure to include in the log anything that may have interfered with the reading, like if you’re feeling stressed or anxious, recently drank caffeine or if you just exercised.
Many blood pressure monitors will also include a measurement of your heart rate which you should also record for your doctor.;
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What Affects A Blood Pressure Reading
Many things can affect a blood pressure reading, including:
- Nervousness about having your blood pressure taken. This is called white coat syndrome. As many as 1 in 3 people who have a high blood pressure reading at the doctors office may have normal blood pressure readings outside of it.1
- What you ate, drank, or did before your reading. If you smoked, drank alcohol or caffeine, or exercised within 30 minutes of having your blood pressure measured, your reading might be higher.2
- How you are sitting. Crossing your legs and letting your arm droop at your side rather than rest on a table at chest height can make your blood pressure go up.2
Its important to get an accurate blood pressure reading so that you have a clearer picture of your risk for heart disease and stroke.
A reading that says your blood pressure is lower than it actually is may give you a false sense of security about your health. A reading that says your blood pressure is higher than it actually is may lead to treatment you dont need.
How Do I Know If My Monitor Is Accurate Or If I Am Using It Correctly
Once you buy your device, have your doctor check it for accuracy. They should check your monitor once a year. On your own, periodically check the tubing for cracks and leaks. Proper care and storage are necessary. Make sure the tubing is not twisted when you store it. Keep it away from heat.
Ask your doctor or nurse to teach you how to use your blood pressure monitor correctly. This will help you achieve good results in controlling your blood pressure.
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How Do You Take Blood Pressure At Home
4 Steps to Take Your Own Blood Pressure at Home with Ease & Accuracy Step 1: Settle down, and sit comfortably. Step 2: Use your device to take 2 or 3 readings. Step 3: Record your results. Step 4: Repeat daily. To really control your blood pressure, you really have to be active in your pursuit of good health!
A Step By Step Guide On How To Take A Blood Pressure Measurement
Step 1
- Introduce yourself and verify patient identity using your clinical setting protocol.
- Obtain consent from the patient for the assessment and explain the procedure.
- Ensure that the patient has not had caffeine or tobacco in the last 30 minutes.
- The patient should be allowed to rest for 5 minutes following activity.
- Prepare the environment by making the room quiet, ensure patient privacy and equipment is intact and clean. Blood pressure is measured indirectly with a stethoscope or doppler and a sphygmomanometer. A sphygmomanometer includes the blood pressure cuff, connection tubes, air pump and manometer.
- Perform hand hygiene.
Step 2
Choose a measurement site:
- The preferred site is the brachial pulse site where the brachial artery runs across the antecubital fossa.
- Another site is the posterior thigh, where the popliteal artery runs behind the knee joint.
- A site should be free from pain, injury, surgical incisions, intravenous cannulas, central venous or arterial lines, areas with poor perfusion, arteriovenous fistulas or AV shunts. This reduces the risk of patient harm and helps to ensure result accuracy.
Step 3
Position the patient either sitting, standing, supine or prone depending on your choice of measurement site.
Step 4
Palpate the artery to determine the systolic BP:
Step 5
Position the stethoscope over the brachial artery and use the bell side.
Step 6
Advise the patient of the result.
Step 11
Clean and return the equipment.
Step 12
Document.
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