Re: Resting before Taking Blood Pressure Measurement

[Guest guest]

Be sure the arm is resting in a PERPENDICULAR position to the body,

not parallel....

Blood pressure readings taken on arms parallel, or extended in the

same direction as the body, are up to 10 percent higher than readings

taken when the elbow is at a right angle to the body with elbow flexed

at heart level, according to a study published as a letter in the Jan.

6, 2004 issue of the ls of Internal Medicine.

The investigators measured blood pressure in 100 emergency room

patients, ages 18-88, who were seen for a chief symptom unlikely to be

associated with cardiovascular instability.

The patients' blood pressure was measured six times – in perpendicular

(right angle, flexed at elbow) and parallel arm positions while

laying, sitting and standing.

The proportion of seated patients classified with hypertension (high

blood pressure) was 22 percent with the arm perpendicular and 41

percent with the arm parallel to the body.

'In every body position, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure

measured with the arm perpendicular to the body was significantly

lower than with the arm in a parallel position,' the authors said.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=5210

>

> Hi folks:

>

> The patient should be seated and resting for at least ten minutes

> before taking a BP reading. Even after ten minutes BP has fallen only

> 75% of the way from its activity level to its benchmark resting level,

> apparently:

>

> " The upper reading of blood pressure fell by 11.6 points and the lower

> reading fell by 4.3 points, the team found.

>

> Because 75 percent of the drop occurred in the first 10 minutes of

> being seated, Sala and colleagues conclude that resting for this

> amount of time " could improve the precision and accuracy of the

> measurement. "

>

> Source: http://snipurl.com/u6rt

>

> Rodney.

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Rodney,

The largest error is the nurse drops the cuff pressure too quickly. Should be about 2 mm per second, assuming their heartbeat is 60.

An analyst will go nuts trying to RSS all the errors.

Regards.

[ ] Resting before Taking Blood Pressure Measurement

Hi folks:The patient should be seated and resting for at least ten minutes before taking a BP reading. Even after ten minutes BP has fallen only 75% of the way from its activity level to its benchmark resting level, apparently:"The upper reading of blood pressure fell by 11.6 points and the lower reading fell by 4.3 points, the team found. Because 75 percent of the drop occurred in the first 10 minutes of being seated, Sala and colleagues conclude that resting for this amount of time "could improve the precision and accuracy of the measurement." Source: http://snipurl.com/u6rtRodney.

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