Clinical practice - Blood pressure Flashcards
What are the main causes of hypotension?
Emotional stress, fear, insecurity or pain (the most common causes of fainting)Dehydration, which reduces blood volumeThe body’s reaction to heat, which is to shunt blood into the vessels of the skin, leading to dehydrationBlood donationInternal bleeding, such as a perforated stomach ulcerBlood loss from trauma, such as a road accident or deep cutPregnancyMedications for high blood pressureDiuretics, which produce fluid lossMedications for depressionMedications for certain heart conditionsAllergic reaction to certain drugs or chemicalsSome forms of infection, such as toxic shock syndromeHeart disease, which can hamper the pumping action of the heart muscleSome nervous system disorders, such as Parkinson’s diseaseAddison’s disease (where the adrenal glands fail to produce sufficient blood-pressure-maintaining hormones).
How is blood pressure measured?
millimetres of mercury (mmHg)
What is a systolic pressure?
The pressure when your heart pushes blood out
What is a diastolic pressure?
The pressure when your heart rests between beats
What are the main causes of hypertension?
Smoking
Being overweight or obeseLack of physical activityToo much salt in the dietToo much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
Stress
Older ageGeneticsFamily history of high blood pressure
Chronic kidney disease
Adrenal and thyroid disorders
Sleep apnea
What is blood pressure?
The measurement of the pressure of the blood on the blood vessel walls
What are the two measurements of blood pressure and unit of measurement?
Sytolic and diastolic
Measure in mm of mercury (mmHg)
What is involved in the pre-procedure checlist for taking blood pressure?
Collect the equipment ensuring the cuff is the appropraiate size
Identify yourself and gain patient consent
Explain the procedure
Perform hand hygiene and provide privacy
When should you not take blood pressure?
Same arm as a mastectomy, arm with a tube or fistula, paralyzed limb
What should you do if the readings one each arm are different?
Take the higher reading of the two
How to postion the patient in order to take blood pressure?
Have the patient rest for 5 minutes
Position patient seated with feet flat and legs uncrossed or in supine postion
Position and support arm so that it is level with their heart and palm facing up
How to do a pulse occlusion check?
With fingers over tbe brachial or radial artery - feel the pulse
Infalte the cuff until you cannot feel the pulse, then note this point. Add 30 mmHg to ger your start point
Deflate the cuff, then wait 30 seconds before continuing
Why is doing a pulse occlusion check important?
Finding a start point prevents over inflation of the cuff and therefore reduces the potential for a false high or missed systolic beat
How to find manual blood pressure?
Place the stethosocope over the brachial artery and inflate cuff to start point
Deflate the cuff at a rate of 2-4 mmHg per second and listen for the first beat (systolic reading)
Then continue deflating the cuff until the sound disappears and note this number (diastolic reading)
Immediately deflate the cuff to avoid prolonged pressure
Where is the aortic heart pulse?
right intercostal space, just next to the midline
Where is the tricuspid heart pulse?
left of the sternum at the fourth intercostal space
Where is the mitral heart pulse?
left of the midline at the 5th intercostal space
Where is the pulmonic heart pulse?
left of the sternum at the 2nd intercostal space
