How To Take A Manual Blood Pressure

Though most physicians take blood pressure using an automatic blood pressure monitor knowing how to use a manual blood pressure monitor is an important skill for anyone interested in health.

How to take a manual blood pressure. Make sure the patient is relaxed by allowing 5 minutes to relax before the first reading. Blood pressure is an important indicator of health. Knowing one s blood pressure is the first step to preventing heart disease. An introductory video explaining how to manually measure blood pressure.

Learning how to take your blood pressure manually may take a little practice but it is actually quite easy once you learn how. This equipment requires coordination. Follow the steps below in order to get the best results from use of the aneroid sphygmomanometer when measuring a patient s blood pressure taking care to avoid some common errors. For pediatric patients the nih provides tables which use age sex and height to interpret blood pressure findings.

Step 2 prepare the patient. Manual or aneroid equipment includes a cuff an attached pump a stethoscope and a gauge. The following steps provide an overview of how to take your left arm blood. Learn how to take a manual blood pressure.

A blood pressure measurement instrument such as an aneroid or mercury column sphygmomanometer or an automated device with a manual inflate mode. The manual blood pressure reading is obtained with an aneroid sphygmomanometer blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. View our pediatric blood pressure drills for more information. If you purchase a manual or digital blood pressure monitor sphygmomanometer follow the instruction booklet carefully.

As a nurse it is essential you know how to take a manual blood pressure. It s difficult to use if you re hearing or visually impaired or if you re unable to perform the hand movements needed to squeeze the bulb and inflate the cuff. In this video we are sharing with you the auscultatory method of determining systolic and diastolic arterial pressures.