HOW TO MEASURE BLOOD PRESSURE

INTRODUCTION
     Most people nowadays now have a sphygmomanometer (the instrument used for measuring blood pressure) of their own at home with which they measure their own blood pressure or the blood pressure of their friends and family members who are hypertensive. 


[Read about Hypertension Here ===>http://www.fgiclinic.com/2016/02/hypertension.html#more]

Mecury sphygmomanometer

Electronic sphygmomanometer

   

Aneroid sphygmomanometer

      Whether you are using an aneroid, mecury, or electronic sphygmomanometer, the priority still remains getting the accurate measurement of your blood pressure. This article is tailored toward this priority and by the time you'd be done reading it, you'd be able to know whether you've been doing it the right way or not.

STEPS IN MEASURING BLOOD PRESSURE. 

1. Sit quietly for atleast five minutes.

2. Ensure that the cuff of the sphygmomanometer is appropriate for your arm. Let me explain this.
The picture below depicts the cuff of a sphygmomanometer.

Note the part of the cuff that is marked "Range Finder".
By the time you are tieing your cuff, the tip of the cuff must fall in between the arrows that spans the Range finder. If it does not, then the cuff is NOT appropriate for your arm.
So if your arm is too small for the cuff, the Range finder would come after the tip of the cuff and if your arm is too big for the cuff, the Ranger finder would come before the tip of the cuff.
The consequence of this is that - Arm that is small for cuff would give a falsely "High Blood Pressure" while Arm that is large for cuff would give a falsely "Low Blood Pressure". So ensure that the cuff of the sphygmomanometer is appropriate for your arm.

3. Also note the part of the cuff that is marked "Artery" with an arrow facing downward. This part must be positioned to the left side of your right arm and vice versa. The reason is because, that is the location of the artery (the brachial artery) whose pressure you are measuring. So placing it in this way would make it to directly lie over the artery.

4. Ensure about 2cm distance between the cuff and the depressed area between your arm and forearm (the cubital fossa)

5. The sphygmomanometer itself must be placed directly at the level of the heart as shown below.

6. Then you can now push the start botton if you are using the electronic sphygmomanometer.

7. If you are using the aneroid or the mecury sphygmomanometer, you can now place your the tip of your finger to feel for the pulse of the artery on the forearm of the person you are checking for.

Once you can feel the pulse then start to inflate the cuff till you can no longer feel the pulse. Note this point. Then deflate the cuff.

8. Place the stethoscope on the depressed area (depicted cubital fossa in the diagram above) and  Inflate the cuff at about 20mmHg higher than the point you initially noticed the pulse couldn't be felt earlier.

9. Start deflating the cuff gradually at 2mmHg per second till you will pick the systolic pressure (i.e when you first hear the beats with the stethoscope) and the diastolic pressure (i.e when the sound starts becoming completely inaudible).

10. That's it.

CONCLUSION
Now that we know how to do it, let's start doing it right. Thank you.