New student- taking blood pressure

S

sp95

Forum Ride Along
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hey guys,
I'm a new student and struggling to measure blood pressure. If we put the stethoscope on the artery without the cuff around the arm, what would we hear? it is just the pulses of the artery or is it nothing at all?
 
Think back to how you're supposed to measure the systolic and diastolic numbers, particularly the diastolic pressure, now realize that with no cuff on the mmHg is essentially zero......put all that together....now the answer should be obvious.
 
I did a bit of practice when I first started to practice stethoscope technique. Take a cuff, put it on, pump to about 100mmHg and move around until you hear sounds. I figure on most people you should be able to hear sounds at 100. I also pay close attention to the nurse when I get my BP taken manually at the Dr office.

I wouldn't leave it on for too long, but it helps to practice positioning, then take the cuff off, then next time (or the other arm) pump to 100mmHg and see if you can position and find the sounds quicker. Keep this up until you get good at positioning the stethoscope and can hit the sounds the first time.

One trip I was told was to make sure you aren't using your thumb to hold the scope down, you can pickup your own heartbeat (no idea how accurate that is)

The key is to practice, practice, practice. I did manual BPs on all of my family/friends/coworkers. I put an e-mail out at my job explaining that I was taking the EMS class and that I could use the practice. Asked anyone that was willing to help to stop by for a set of vitals.
 
Giant81 said:
I did a bit of practice when I first started to practice stethoscope technique. Take a cuff, put it on, pump to about 100mmHg and move around until you hear sounds. I figure on most people you should be able to hear sounds at 100. I also pay close attention to the nurse when I get my BP taken manually at the Dr office.

I wouldn't leave it on for too long, but it helps to practice positioning, then take the cuff off, then next time (or the other arm) pump to 100mmHg and see if you can position and find the sounds quicker. Keep this up until you get good at positioning the stethoscope and can hit the sounds the first time.

One trip I was told was to make sure you aren't using your thumb to hold the scope down, you can pickup your own heartbeat (no idea how accurate that is)

The key is to practice, practice, practice. I did manual BPs on all of my family/friends/coworkers. I put an e-mail out at my job explaining that I was taking the EMS class and that I could use the practice. Asked anyone that was willing to help to stop by for a set of vitals.
Click to expand...

Another way to practice is to take a radial pulse, pump the cuff up until it disappears, then start decreasing the pressure until you can feel the radial pulse again. At that point, you should be able to hear what you're looking for at the brachial artery.

As far as the thumb thing goes, it depends on what type of stethoscope you're using. If the head of the stethoscope only has one place to listen with, it's not an issue. If it has a reversible head, it shouldn't be an issue if it's a high quality stethoscope.
 
Just keep practicing, mastering taking a blood pressure is all about repetition. And don't be afraid to say you didn't hear anything if you truly didn't hear anything you never want to make things up. you'll definitely get the hang of it just keep practicing. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top