The following assignment is going to discuss measuring blood pressure and how it relates to Adult Nursing. I will explain the term blood pressure and how the skill is used. I believe it is one of the most important clinical skills required to monitor patient’s health and wellbeing.
Firstly the term Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure that the blood exerts on the walls of the blood vessels. Systemic arterial blood pressure sustains the essential flow of blood into and out of the organs of the body. It is crucial to maintain BP within its normal limits, if it becomes too high blood vessels can be damaged, if it is too low it can affect the organs such as the heart, brain or kidneys. BP can vary for many different reasons including, the age and …show more content…
Raised BP is putting additional stress on your arteries and heart. The extra stress can cause the arteries to become more narrow and weaker over time, making them more likely to become clogged up, which can lead to a clot and then a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease (Blood Pressure UK 2008). If hypertension is to be diagnosed and treated accurately then it is vital that BP is measured correctly in order to obtain an accurate reading. Reasons for poor technique include, incorrect cuff size, failure to remove tight clothing, incorrect positioning of the arm and talking to the patient during the procedure. There are automated and manual BP machines used to measure BP. Most automated machines use the oscillometric technique, this relies on the detection of variations in pressure oscillations due to arterial wall movement below the cuff. Manual machines use an auscultatory method, the upper arm cuff in inflated to occlude the brachial artery and then involves listening to the Korotkoff sounds through a stethoscope while the cuff is slowly deflated (Denver 2013). There is increasing evidence that automated machines may not achieve acceptable levels of accuracy in certain conditions such as, arrhythmias and vascular disease (Wedgbury et al 2008). A study by Coe and Houghton (2002) found that “6.5% of daycase patients would have been inappropriately diagnosed as hypertensive when their blood pressure was taken using an automated blood pressure
Firstly the term Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure that the blood exerts on the walls of the blood vessels. Systemic arterial blood pressure sustains the essential flow of blood into and out of the organs of the body. It is crucial to maintain BP within its normal limits, if it becomes too high blood vessels can be damaged, if it is too low it can affect the organs such as the heart, brain or kidneys. BP can vary for many different reasons including, the age and …show more content…
Raised BP is putting additional stress on your arteries and heart. The extra stress can cause the arteries to become more narrow and weaker over time, making them more likely to become clogged up, which can lead to a clot and then a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease (Blood Pressure UK 2008). If hypertension is to be diagnosed and treated accurately then it is vital that BP is measured correctly in order to obtain an accurate reading. Reasons for poor technique include, incorrect cuff size, failure to remove tight clothing, incorrect positioning of the arm and talking to the patient during the procedure. There are automated and manual BP machines used to measure BP. Most automated machines use the oscillometric technique, this relies on the detection of variations in pressure oscillations due to arterial wall movement below the cuff. Manual machines use an auscultatory method, the upper arm cuff in inflated to occlude the brachial artery and then involves listening to the Korotkoff sounds through a stethoscope while the cuff is slowly deflated (Denver 2013). There is increasing evidence that automated machines may not achieve acceptable levels of accuracy in certain conditions such as, arrhythmias and vascular disease (Wedgbury et al 2008). A study by Coe and Houghton (2002) found that “6.5% of daycase patients would have been inappropriately diagnosed as hypertensive when their blood pressure was taken using an automated blood pressure