1: Vital signs Flashcards
What is the first step of the nursing process?
Assessment!
most common objective assessment done by nurses
Vital signs
objective assessment
When nurses asses an individual
Subjective assessment
When a patient tells us the problem
Range for temperature
98.6-100.4 F
Range for pulse
60-100 bpms
range for respirations
12-20
range for blood pressure
<120/<80
Pulse/heart rate reflects
Heart contraction. beats/min
Cardiac output
blood flow per minute
Radial
wrist
Apical
apex of the heart, 4th-5th ICS
carotid
along sternocleidomastoid muscle
Places for circulation assessment rather than vitals
- brachial
- femoral
- popliteal
- posterior
- doralis pedis
Assess all four for pulse
Rate
Rhythm
Strength
Symmetry
what do you do if you palpate an irregular pulse
Listen to apical pulse for a full minute
Stroke volume
amount of blood the LV pumps out with each contraction
Cardiac output=
(Heart rate)(stroke volume)
what will happen to the Cardiac output when someone is dehydrated
heart rate increases, therefore CO increases
what will happen to the CO if a med decreases the HR?
Decrease in CO
Bradycardia
slow, less than 60bpm
Tachycardia
fast, more than 100 bpm
how to assess rhythm
regular or irregular?
- regularly irregular (predictable)
- irregularly irregular (unpredictable)
how to assess quality of pulse
Bounding (4+) Strong (3+) Normal (2+) Diminished (1+) Absent (0)
actors influencing pulse rate
- exercise
- temperature
- emotions
- medications
- hemorrhage/fluid loss
- postural changes
- pulmonary conditions
improved physical condition =
Decrease heart rate
fever affects on HR
Fever= Increase in HR
Hypothermia affects on hr
Hypothermia decreases HR
Emotions affect of HR
pain/anxiety = increases HR
Hemorrhage/fluid loss affects on HR
Increases Heart rate
change from standing to sitting affects on HR
Sit to stand increases HR
impaired O2 could lead to
increased HR
if circulation is compromised, what may be present
pallor or cyanosis
pallor
paleness of skin
cyanosis
bluish or grayish discoloration due to excessive CO2 and deficient O2
systolic pressure
peak pressure exerted against arterial walls as ventricles contract & eject blood
Diastolic pressure
Minimum pressure exerted against arterial walls between cardiac contractions when the heart is at rest
Pulse pressure
difference between the systolic and diastolic pressures
Blood pressure is the result of interaction of
- Cardiac output
- peripheral vascular resistance
- blood volume
- blood viscosity
Decrease in radius =
increase in resistance, increase blood pressure
increase in radius =
decrease in resistance = decreased pressure
increase in blood volume=
increase in blood pressure
Decrease in blood volume =
Decrease in Blood pressure
physiological factors that influence BP
age stress ethnicity gender medications activity weight smoking
2 ways of measuring BP
- indirect or noninvasive
2. direct method
Indirect method or noninvasive
external devices like a BP cuff
direct method
- done in critical care setting
- catheter threaded into an artery
- connected to electric monitoring system
1st korotkoff sound
systolic BP
5th korotkoff sound
silence, corresponding with diastole
which do you use to assess BP?
Systolic number