Blood pressure refers to the force that blood exerts against vessel walls, represented by systolic and diastolic pressures. Blood pressure is determined by cardiac output and peripheral resistance. Postural hypotension is a sudden drop in blood pressure when moving from lying to standing. Hypovolemia and hypervolemia refer to abnormally low or high blood volume. Measuring blood pressure involves using a sphygmomanometer and stethoscope to listen for sounds over the brachial artery at different cuff pressures.

2. BLOOD PRESSURE
•Refers to the force that blood exerts against a
vessel wall.
•These points are represented by the systolic
(ventricular contraction) and diastolic (ventricular
relaxation) pressures.

3. BLOOD PRESSURE
BP is a function of 2 elements:
(1) Cardiac Output – amount of blood flow
(2) Peripheral Resistance – impediment to blood flow
within a vessel

4. BLOOD PRESSURE

5. BLOOD PRESSURE
•Postural (Orthostatic) Hypotension
-is a sudden drop in BP that occurs when
movement to upright postures (sitting or standing)
is initiated.

6. BLOOD PRESSURE
•Hypovolemia
- Abnormally low volume of circulating blood
•Hypervolemia
- Abnormally increase in blood

7. BLOOD PRESSURE
Equipment Requirements
•Sphygmomanometer
•Stethoscope

8. BLOOD PRESSURE
Stethoscope Sphygmomanometer

9. BLOOD PRESSURE
Procedure for Measuring Blood Pressure

10. BLOOD PRESSURE
•Expose the patient’s arm;
• then wrap the deflated cuff evenly around the
patient’s arm approximately 2.5 cm above the
antecubital fossa

11. BLOOD PRESSURE
•Place the earpieces of the stethoscope into ears;
and place the head of the stethoscope firmly over
the artery at the lower border of the BP cuff.

12. BLOOD PRESSURE
•Close the valve of the BP cuff and start inflating until
the estimated level previously determined or until it
reaches approximately 20 to 30 mmHg above the
anticipated systolic pressure.

13. BLOOD PRESSURE
•Note the point at which the first sound was heard
(systolic); and note when the sound first becomes
muffled and the valve on the manometer when the
sound disappears (diastolic).