Vital signs review Flashcards
What are the vital signs
- heart rate
- o2 saturation
- respiratory rate
- pain
- blood pressure
- temperature
Why are vital signs important
to detect or monitor potential medical problems
What does body temp depend on
gender, menstruation, time of day, fluid intake, recent activity, and food
Average body temperature?
36.5 - 37.2 C
How can temperature be taken
Orally (mouth), Tympanic (ear), Rectal (Anus), temporal (skin), axillary (armpit)
Hyperthermia? Hypothermia?
Hyper- increased temperature (37.5–38.3 °C)
Hypo- decreased temperature (below 35)
Temperature during a fever + when is temperature the highest
38.5, during the evening
Temperatures we can take
Above 40 is life threatening (body)
41- brain death begins
45- near death
internal above 50- immediate death and rigid muscles
What is the pulse; what are you feeling?
Change in the diameter of the arteries that can be felt on the body’s surface following heart contractions
As the heart pushes blood through the arteries, the arteries expand and contract with the flow of the blood.
What does a pulse measure…HR..and..
HR, rhythm, and strength
Normal Heart Rate
60 to 100 beats per minute, average 70-72bpm
What can cause differences in HR
exercise, illness, injury, and emotions.
Females tend to have faster heart rates.. T/F
T; females above 12
Where can you take HR
carotid artery (neck); radial artery (wrist); brachial artery (elbow); femoral artery (groin); dorsalis pedis artery (foot) – for most people the easiest place to take the pulse and get a starting value is at the wrist (lease invasive)
Why would you never press both carotid arteries at the same time?
would cause a stroke; preventing blood from getting to Brain, cerebrovascular accident
Why would you not use your thumb while taking HR?
Your thumb has its own pulse
Why is RR done during HR?
So the patient can’t alter their regular breathing pattern
What can cause alterations?
(Temp)
Fever, illness, and other medical conditions
Adult avg RR
12-20
O2 saturation measures…?
Measure of the oxygen saturated hemoglobin relative to the total hemoglobin (saturated and unsaturated) in the blood
Acceptable Measures? Acceptable measure during covid
(O2 SAT)
Pre-Covid: 95-100
After/During Covid- 93+
What is O2 sat measured with
oximeter
The redder the blood…
Higher the O2 Sat
What is BP measured with
sphygmomanometer= cuff
+ stethoscope
What is BP?
Force of blood pushing off artery walls…
- heart pumps blood into arteries as It beats, so higher BP occurs when it contracts
Higher Measurement of BP
systolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart contracts and pumps blood through the body.
Lower measurement of BP
The lower number, or diastolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart is at rest and is filling with blood.
Average Measurement of BP
120/80 mm Hg
Medical term for high bp
hypertension: 140/90 +**cHECK
Medical term for heart attack
Myocardial Infarction
Medical term for stroke
Cerebrovascular accident
Effects of High BP
With high blood pressure, the arteries may have an increased resistance against the flow of blood, causing the heart to pump harder to circulate the blood.
High BP
140 and +, 90 and +
Normal
120-139, 80-89
Low BP
less than 120, less than 80
a single elevated bp is evident of a problem..t/f
f
what is white coat syndrome
variations in bp that are higher in medical settings
What to do while taking BP
- legs uncrossed
- back supported
- sit comfortably
- cuff should fit one finger in it
- bottom part of cuff should be an inch above elbow crease
- using the proper sized cuff
Subjective Data
What patients tell you; describe the pain
objective data
what you tell the patient
what scale is used to measure pain for kids, those with language barriers, etc.
wong baker face scale
what is also used to measure pain
dallas pain questionnaire
Core temperatures can be…
1/2-1 degree higher than surface compared to oral
Temporal Temperatures can be iffy….
Depends on weather, clothing, diet, etc.
Most accurate:
Oral- not very invasive, reasonably accurate, inside the body
Least accurate:
Axillary- surface temperature, clothing, etc.
Sign vs Symptoms
Sign- objective (what you can observe on the patient)
Symptom- subjective (what the patient feels)
Medical term for a fever, what is the required temperature and how can it be treated
Prexia, 38.5 or higher, its a sign that the body is fighting an infection
- can be treated: Tylenol, fluid, rest, lukewarm bath
gallop
abnormal rhythm; 3-4 sounds at once
murmur
abnormal heart sounds, whooshing, rasping sounds
malignant hypertension
sudden hypertension, highly elevated and comes on quickly
prehypertension ranges (make sure you have the ranges for the other ones too)
120-139
80-89
hypotension: 90/60 and lower
hypopnea
slow, and shallow breathing occurring in 10 second intervals during sleep
stridor
wheezes
rales
rhonchi
crackles
STRIDOR: high pitch sound caused by irregular airflow in narrowed airway
WHEEZES: whistling breathing sound; airway obstruction
RALES: clicking or bubbling lung sounds
RHONCHI: coarse loud sounds caused by constricting larger airways
CRACKLES: short interrupted breath sounds
anoxia
ischemia
- state of total o2 depletion in body
- blood flow and o2 restriction
nocireceptor
arthlagia
allodynia
anaglesia
cephalagia
NSAID
NOCIRECEPTOR: sensory receptor for painful stimuli
ARTHLAGIA: joint pain
ALLODYNIA: PAIN FROM STIMULUS THAT DOESN’T USUALLY CAUSE PAIN
(ex. light feather touch)
ANAGLESIA: INABILITY TO FEEL PAIN
CEPHALAGIA: ANY PAIN IN THE HEAD
NSAID: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to relieve pain
febrile
heat stroke vs exhaustion
FEBRILE: having/showing symptoms of a fever
HEAT STROKE VS EXHAUSTION:
- stroke requires immediate medical attention
- exhaustion: weak pulse, dizzy, excessive sweating
- stroke: NO SWEATING, loss of consciousness, red hot and dry skin (40 or higher temp)
(make sure to study what makes vs increase and decrease)
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