Taking blood pressure is deft, which requires exercising to get precise results. After one has absorbed the skill, it can be an effective gizmo to check on your health as well as that of the entire family. Well, how is blood pressure taken? You need three apparatus to learn. These are
• A blood pressure cuff
• Sphygmomanometer
• Stethoscope
You wrap the cuff around the limb and it has a tube fused to it with a valve and a bulb and at the ending
for inflation and deflation of the cuff. The special meter fixed by tube to the cuff indicates the amount
of air pressure in the cuff. The stethoscope enables one to hear and evaluate the blood pressure. The
cuff should conceal approximately two-thirds of the subject limb. If the cuff is extra-large or very small, it
may show inaccurate blood pressure readings. Moreover, if the cuff is a bit loose or too tight erroneous
readings follow. Wear the cuff in such a way that you can insert a finger between the limb and the cuff
for accuracy.
Avoid Injury
One should not use a limb that has a dialysis fistula an arterial combination in it. In addition, avoid using
the limb on the side where surgery has occurred. This frequently is the case with several cancerous
patients.
Take a rest
For those who might wonder how his blood pressure taken, after a workout, taking caffeine or smoking,
stay for 30 minutes then proceed taking blood pressure. Whichever limb you use to take blood pressure,
it should at level with the heart. In case it is higher than the heart, blood pressure rises, if it is beneath
the heart, blood pressure lowers.
Apt, Steps for Taking Blood Pressure
1. The subject should sit down with the limb bent somehow and relaxed on a bench. The person’s
feet should rest on the ground calmly for at least 5 minutes.
2. Enfold the cuff around the upper limb approximately an inch beyond the prod.
3. Trace the brachial pulsation within of the elbow. Place stethoscope diaphragm on the pulse
location.
4. With the use of the bulb joined to the cuff, pump up cuff to about 30mmHg, above the normal
systolic blood pressure. Systolic is the upper reading of blood pressure taken. If the standard
systolic blood pressure for the patient is 120mmHg, pump up the cuff to around 150mmHg.
5. Gently undo the stopcock on the bulb to discharge pressure in the cuff. The pressure should
escape at the rate of just more than two or 3mmHg per second.
6. With the help of a stethoscope, note the initial pulse. As the pressure falls, continue listening to
the thump sounds until they fade, then record the last pulsate.
7. The initial thump sound you hear is the systolic pressure, which is the maximum pressure
generated by contraction of the heart. The final sound is the diastolic pressure; this is when
the heart relaxes. This is the bottom number. Therefore, when the initial sound is at 120mmHg
and the finishing at 80mmHg, blood pressure reading is 135/90.