Vital signs Flashcards
Tachycardia
Fast heart rate
Bradycardia
slow heart rate
Dyspnea
painful breath
Tachypnea
fast breathing
Bradypnea
slow breading
Hypertension
above normal (blood pressure)
Hypotension
below normal (blood pressure)
Hyperthermia
high temperature
Hypothermia
low temperature
Febrile
fever, high temperature
Vital signs
show first sign of illness or disease in the patient
Temp: normal range
36 degrees celsius - 37.5
Temp: abnormal range
Above 37.5
Below 35
Ways to measure temperature
oral, tympanic, foreheard, buthole, armpit
Respirations
the process of taking in oxygen (inspiration) and expelling carbon dioxide
Respirations normal range
16-20 respirations/min
Abnormal range for respirations
Below 10: sleep? fit? drugs/alc?
Above 25? excersing? blood loss?
How to measure respirations
watch their chest rise and fall for 1 minute or look at it for 30 seconds and multiply by 2
Pulse
the rhythmic dilation of an artery that results from beating of the heart
Normal pulse range
60 to 100 (the lower, the better, more efficient)
Factors that affect pulse
Increase: caffeine, emotions, anxiety, dehydration
decrease: prescription drugs, depressant drugs (heroine, morphine), being asleep
Oxygen Saturation Level
Your blood oxygen level is a measure of how much oxygen your red blood cells are carrying.
What measures oxygen sat level
A pulse oximeter
How does a pulse oximeter work
It works by sending infrared light into capillaries in your finger, toe, or earlobe and it is measured by how much light is reflected off the gasses
the normal range for oxygen sat level
95 to 100 percent
Blood pressure
the force the blood exerts on the artery walls as blood circulates the body
Systole
represents the blood pressure when your heart beats
Diastole
represents your blood pressure when your heart relaxes and refills with blood
Normal range for blood pressure
90/60, 120/80
