Vital Signs Flashcards

1
Q

Guidelines for HTN

A

Normal <120 and <80
Prehypertension 120-139 or 80-89
Hypertension Stage 1: 140-150 or 90-99
Hypertension Stage 2: >160 or >100

Older than 60- <150/90

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2
Q

Orthostatics

A

Series of BP taken with patient supine, sitting, and standing
Orthostatic hypotension
- drop of SBP > 20 mm Hg after standing OR
- drop in DBP > 10 mm Hg within 3 min of standing

Useful in assessing possible syncope in near adults
Cause-drugs, blood loss, prolonged bed rest, ANS disease
Normal- systolic BP drops slightly or stays the same. Diastolic BP rises.

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3
Q

Pulse normal

A

Rhythm: regular/irregular
Normal: 50-90 bpm

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4
Q

Respiratory Rate

A

Rate, rhythm, depth, effort of breathing, documenting units and details

Infants- up to 44 breaths/min
11-16 y/o- 16-24
Adult- 12-20
Elderly- 12-24

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5
Q

Average oral Temp

A
37 deg C or 98.6 deg F
Fluctuates throughout day. Document units and details 
Pyrexia = fever > 98.6 F
Hyperpyrexia > 106 F
Hypothermia < 95 F

Rectal 0.5 C (1 F) > than oral temp
Axillary 0.5 C (1 F) < oral temp
Tympanic 0.8 (1.4 F) > oral temp

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6
Q

Types of Pain

TQ!!!!

A

Location, severity, associated features, pain scale 0-10 or visual scale

Types of pain:

  • Nociceptive (somatic) - acute/chronic
  • Neuropathic pain- somatosensory. Burning, etc. Occur after initial injury
  • Central sensitization- amplification of pain signals
  • Psychogenic and idiopathic pain- factors that influence pain. Psychiatric conditions like anxiety, etc
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7
Q

Body mass index

A

BMI measure of body fat based on height and weight
Limitations: overestimate fat in people with muscular build or underestimate body fat in people who lost muscle

Weight lbs x 700 / (Ht x Ht in) or//
At kg/Ht m^2

Normal: 18.5 - 24.9
Underweight < 18.5
Overweight 25-29.9 ***** TQ!
Obesity I > 30
Obesity II 35-39.9
Severe Obesity >=40
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8
Q

If BMI is 35 or higher

A

Measure the patient’s waist circumference. With the patient standing, measure the waist above the hip bones. The patient may have excessive body fat if the waist measures:

  • Greater than or equal to 35 inches for women
  • Greater than or equal to 40 inches for men
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9
Q

Brachial artery location

A

Medial to biceps tendon

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10
Q

How to take BP reading

A

Patient avoid caffeine 30 min prior. Sit with arm at heart level and free of clothing.
Should be no entry for dialysis, scarring, or lymphedema

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11
Q

Korotkoff sounds

** TQ!!

A

When blood pressure cuff reduces pressure, the external pressure becomes less than the systolic and allows blood to rush into artery making Korotkoff sounds

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12
Q

Auscultatory gap

A

Silent interval present between systolic and diastolic pressures. Associated with arterial stiffness and atherosclerotic disease. Unrecognized gap can cause inaccurate reading

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13
Q

False BP readings

** TQ!

A

Cuff too small, BP will be too high **
Cuff too big, BP will be too low **

Venous congestion gives low systolic and high diastolic
Brachial artery below heart will give high BP
Brachial artery above heart will give low BP

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14
Q

Vitals

A

BP, Temperature, Pulse, Respiration’

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15
Q

Auscultory pressure

A

Inflate cuff to palpation BP + 30
Deflate cuff at rate of 2-3 mm Hg per second
Note level at which hear 2 consecutive heart beats
Continue lowering pressure until sounds become muffled and disappear at diastolic pressure
Listen for another drop of about 10-20 mm Hg to confirm
Rapidly deflate cuff
Wait 2 or more minutes, take another reading, and average the readings. If reading differ by > 5 mm Hg, take additional readings.

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16
Q

Bradypnea

A

Slow breathing, caused by diabetic coma, drugs, and increased intracranial pressure

17
Q

Sighing respiration

A

Breathing with frequent sighs, caused by hyperventilation syndrome

18
Q

Tachypnea

A

Rapid shallow breathing caused by restrictive lung disease, pleuritic chest pain, and elevated diaphragm

19
Q

Cheyne-Stokes breathing

A

Periods of deep breathing (hyperpnea) followed by periods of apnea (no breathing), may be in children and elderly while sleeping, also caused by heart failure, uremia, drugs and brain damage

20
Q

Obstructive breathing

A

Prolonged expiration bc narrowed airways, increased resistance to airflow, caused by asthma, chronic bronchitis, and COPD

21
Q

Hyperpnea (hyperventilation)

A

Rapid deep breathing, caused by exercise, anxiety, and metabolic acidosis (Kussmaul breathing, which is always deep, but can be fast, normal, or slow)

22
Q

Ataxic breathing (Biot’s breathing)

A

Unpredictable irregularity. May be shallow or deep, and stop for short periods, caused by respiratory depression and brain damage

23
Q

White coat hypertension

A

Occur in 10-25% of a patient’s especially in women and anxious individuals
Due to patient anxiety at doctor’s visit
Usually more than 140/90

24
Q

Truncal fat

A

Cushing’s syndrome

25
Q

Long limbs in proposition to the trunk

A

Marfan’s syndrome

26
Q

Generalized fat

A

Obesity

27
Q

Very short stature

A

Turner’s syndrome

28
Q

Exaggerated stare

A

Hyperthyroidism

29
Q

Masked facies

A

Parkinsonism

30
Q

Acute CHF, position

A

Sitting up

31
Q

COPD

A

Sitting up and leaning forward with arms braced

32
Q

High temperature with normal BP

A

He drank a cup of hot coffee right before