Measuring Blood Pressure

Instructional clip on how to take blood pressure using an aneroid sphygmomanometer.

• Category

  Howto & Style

[philjquitt]

The arm should be supported, is usually cited as "the rule". Reason for supporting the arm is, that work done by the patient holding their arm out creates a stimulus to blood pressure, so the reading would be higher than it actually is, for a patient seated at rest. The arm in this clip was not properly supported. The cuffed part of the arm should be at heart height also. Cuff deflation, should not be "per second", as said in the clip. It's "per pulse beat".

[jennafrady]

This explained a method to that I really understand. My instructor had us inflate the cuff until we no longer felt the radial pulse, then we were to deflate the cuff, inflate 30 mmHg past that number (requiring us to remember another number) then use our stethoscope to hear the brachial pulse.

This was so much easier!

Thank you for posting!

[Vane S.]

I teach folks to listen for THE ONE constant sound, like the pulse, or that is "pulse-like," and differentiate this from the background sounds that are not pulse-like. Then your brain can do the rest of the work focusing, believe it or not. Sometimes are more difficult than others, depending on how much background noise you have. But there's not much else you can do. Make sure the diaphragm is making a good, sealed contact all around with the patient's skin. And...don't move your fingers! :-D

[lemontwist2006]

My stethoscope is so sensitive I can hear my fingers movement on the bell part...*ugh. Then I have trouble hearing for a beat. How can this be eliminated?

[Chris Pimentel]

I took my CNA skills test today, my tester said I didn't know the correct way to take BP, I did everything how my instructer told me, which is the same as in this video, yet she still failed me and my partner, why??

[TheBuccaneersFootbal]

Thank you, this helped a lot

[Tasbo1982]

So yes, 100/80 means Systole is 100 and Diastole is 80.

[Tasbo1982]

Its all about blood pressure - so think like this: your blood has 2 pressure - one is base level (diastolic) and one is a higher level as the blood pulses through the arteries having been pumped by the heart (systolic). So you clamp off the vessel at very high pressure and then slowly release that pressure - The first thing you will hear is the systolic pushing through (at higher pressure) - when you dont hear it it is because the pressure is the same as base pressure - that's diastole