How to Take Blood Pressure and Get an Accurate Reading
A blood pressure reading measures the pressure that is placed on the wall of your arteries while blood is flowing in your body. Your blood does not flow smoothly but rather it surges when your heart makes a beat. A normal blood pressure level is lower than 120/80 mm Hg. The top number is the systolic number while the bottom number shows the diastolic level. Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure which occurs due to the heart contracting and pumping blood. The diastolic blood pressure measures the pressure that occurs in your blood vessels when the heart is resting.
Taking Your Blood Pressure
How to take your blood pressure properly begins with relaxing while sitting in a comfortable position. Make sure the cuff goes directly onto your skin on the upper portion of your arm and not onto the sleeve of your shirt. The cuff of the blood pressure monitor should be placed over the brachial artery which is found in the crook of your elbow. Position the gauge in order to have it easily viewed. Most blood pressure monitors are designed to have a clip secure the gauge directly on the cuff.
After you have placed the cuff on your arm you should raise up your arm until it is at the level of your heart. It is a good idea to place your other arm underneath the cuffed arm in order to prevent your cuffed arm from moving lower. How to take your blood pressure properly includes making sure you relax the cuffed arm while taking you blood pressure.
Brachial Pulse
When your doctor informs you how to take your blood pressure he will instruct you to locate the brachial pulse with your hand and put the diaphragm portion of the stethoscope over this location of your arm. Put the stethoscope into your ears in order to hear your pulse. Close off the valve which is located on the bladder of the blood monitor cuff and squeeze the bulb. Continue to squeeze the bulb until the reading on the gauge is 180 mm Hg or higher or you can squeeze the bulb until the reading on the gauge is 10 mm Hg higher than the level you noticed during the last pulse while pumping up the cuff.
When a doctor instructs you how to take your blood pressure he will advise you to now slowly open up the blood monitor valve and try to deflate the cuff by 5 mm Hg per second. When you initially hear the Karotkoff sound with your stethoscope you are listening to the systolic blood pressure. You want to take the pressure out of the cuff until you cannot hear the Karotkoff sound in the stethoscope. This gives you the diastolic pressure reading. After this occurs you can completely open up the blood monitor valve and let the cuff deflate at a rapid pace. If you follow these basic instructions you will know how to take your blood pressure.
