Lab 5: Blood Pressure Flashcards
What are the tools used for taking blood pressure?
- Stethoscope
- Sphygmomanometer
When placing the BP cuff on the arm, what artery is being used for taking blood pressure?
Brachial
When taking a blood pressure, the diaphragm of the stethoscope is placed…
on the patient’s brachial artery under BP cuff
Taking a blood pressure reading
Why do we inflate the cuff to 180 mmHg?
To ensure that the pressure is above aortic systolic pressure so the cuff pressure seals the artery and prevents blood flow.
Taking a blood pressure reading
We reduce pressure in the cuff by
slowly opening the air release valve
Taking a blood pressure reading
The first reading is taken when
the first heartbeat is heard
Taking a blood pressure reading
The second reading is taken…
as soon as the heartbeat is no longer heard.
Taking a blood pressure reading
The number above the fraction line of a reading is known as
systole
Taking a blood pressure reading
The number below the line is known as
diastole
Prior to inflating the cuff, do we here a pulse?
Why?
- No
- Blood is flowing freely and there is no variance of pressure upon the cuff
After inflating the cuff, do we hear a heartbeat?
Why?
- No
- Because all blood flow has been cut off by the bp cuff
The two easiest places to take a pulse are
- Coratid artery at neck
- Radial artery at wrist
What causes the sounds we hear when taking blood pressure?
The pressure and lack of pressure put upon the cuff by the contractions of the heart.
What would happen if you left an inflated blood pressure cuff on?
It would cut the flow of blood to all areas below the cuff.
Occasionally, a shygmomanometer needs to be inflated to 200 mmHg. Why?
The patient’s systolic pressure is more than 180 mmHg
