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The understanding of Blood Pressure
When I was attending school to become a medical assistant I learned about blood pressure. Blood pressure (BP) is the force or pressure that carries blood to all parts of the body. A blood pressure reading is the pressure that blood puts on the walls of arteries. There are two parts to a blood pressure. The first number in a blood pressure reading is the systolic, and the diastolic is the bottom or second number in the reading. An example of a blood pressure reading is 120/80 (120 over 80). In this example, 120 is the systolic number and 80 is the diastolic number. The systolic (top) number is the peak blood pressure when the heart is beating or squeezing out blood. The diastolic (bottom) number is the pressure when your heart is filling with blood or resting between beats. Normal blood pressure is a systolic number less than 130, and a diastolic number below 85 (120/80). High normal blood pressure is a systolic number between 130 to 139, or a diastolic number between 85-89. (135/85). High blood pressure is a systolic number of 140 or higher, or a diastolic number of 90 or higher (140/90).
The equipment needed to measure blood pressure includes a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer, which is the device that is used to measure blood pressure. The stethoscope amplifies sounds produced by the body with a chestpiece and an earpiece. The chestpieces include a diaphragm which is a large flat disc and a bell. It is useful for hearing high pitched sounds like lung
and bowel sounds, whereas the bell chestpiece is more useful for hearing low pitched sounds such as those produced by the heart and vascular system
When I was working as a medical assistant I had to follow these steps on taking blood pressure on a patient. In able to keep a record of BP, you will need the sphygmomanometer, a stethoscope, and a pencil and paper. Make sure the arm is not covered with a sleeve and always use the proper size cuff...