High blood pressure is a primary risk factor for heart disease, affecting more than 73 million Americans over age 20. It's often called the silent killer because people can have high blood pressure for years before being diagnosed with it. The easiest way to measure blood pressure is by using a sphygmomanometer. It's available in three types: mercurial, aneroid and automatic. This article focuses on the use of an aneroid sphygmomanometer.
Step 1
Ask the patient to sit quietly in a chair with his arms at his side. To ensure accurate measurements, it's best if he hasn't had coffee, anything to eat or engaged in exercise within the previous hour.
Step 2
Lift the patient's arm, supporting it under your arm by pressing it against the side of your body. Wrap the Velcro cuff around his arm, around the biceps muscles and above the elbow joint. It's best to wrap the cuff around the arm without clothing, but thin shirts or blouses are acceptable as long as they won't interfere with hearing sounds using a stethoscope. Wrap the cuff tightly enough so that it won't slip down the arm.
Step 3
Place the head of a stethoscope over the brachial artery and the tips in your ears. The brachial artery is located on the inside of the arm and crosses the elbow joint. Hold the head of the stethoscope firmly against the patient's arm using your left hand. Apply light pressure with your thumb on the head of the stethoscope and the fingers on the bottom of the elbow.
Step 4
Rapidly inflate the bladder in the cuff, using the rubber bulb with your right hand, until you completely cut off circulation through the brachial artery. Referring to the pressure gauge, inflate the cuff to approximately 200mmHg.
Step 5
Deflate the cuff slowly by turning the pressure valve next to the rubber bulb, counter-clockwise. Continue deflating the cuff, listening for the first set of sounds. The sounds will make a "whoosing" noise as the blood begins to circulate through the brachial artery. Note the reading on the pressure gauge.This is the systolic blood pressure.
Step 6
Continue deflating the pressure cuff until you hear a second set of whoosing sounds. Note the reading on the pressure gauge. This is the diastolic blood pressure.
Step 7
Record the systolic and diastolic pressure readings in the patient's chart. It's often a good idea to take more than one set of measurements. If you're taking another reading, make sure that you allow the cuff to completely deflate between measurements. For accuracy, you may want to repeat the measurement on the other arm. There are often significant differences between sides.
Step 8
Take the blood pressure measurement using an automated sphygmomanometer if you don't have a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. Follow the manufacturer's directions.
Things You'll Need
- Stethoscope
