Keep The Patient Informed About His Blood Pressure

Blood pressure monitoring must be done on a regular basis in order to keep track of a patient's health condition. Everyone, especially the elderly, tries to avoid high blood pressure as this conceives to heart problems. On the top of the list are coronary heart disease, enlargement of left heart, and heart failure. By regular monitoring, the patient can prevent the occurrence of any of these heart problems.

Common Questions About Blood Pressure Monitor

There are countless ways to provide comfort to patients, and one of the ways is the use of blood pressure monitor.

WHEN Is It Needed?

The doctor requires the monitoring of blood pressure when:

1. The patient was diagnosed with hypertension - systolic(top) number between 120 and 139 mm Hg, OR diastolic(bottom) number between 80 and 89 mm Hg.
2. The patient was diagnosed with hypertension - systolic 140 mm Hg above, OR diastolic 90 mm Hg or above.
3. The patient has a greater risk of high blood pressure.

WHY Is It Important?

A patient's health care provider want to make sure that his/her arteries are well-functional. The reading varies each day, depending on the factors that influence the blood pressure, like diet, emotions, cold temperatures, smoking, and medication. Daily reading provides the health care provider a clearer picture of a patient's condition, and make an immediate precautionary when problems occur.

WHO Needs Monitoring?

Blood pressure monitor is useful to various persons who are more likely to experience health problems:

1. Individuals having coronary heart disease, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease. 
2. Pregnant women, because they are most likely to have pregnancy-induced hypertension. 
3. Elderly patients because they are vulnerable to high blood pressure, as the age affects the health condition of human beings.
4. People who are expected to have masked hypertension.

HOW To Use A Blood Pressure Monitor?

Problems may arise if the device was incorrectly used. Here are the steps on how to use it:

Locate the pulse. Lightly press the index and middle fingers to the inside center of the bend of the patient's elbow. If you can't locate it, place the head of the stethoscope or the arm cuff in the same general area.

Secure the cuff. Through the metal loop, thread the cuff and slide it onto the patient's arm. Make sure that the head part of the stethoscope is over the artery. There is a mark on the device to help you determine the location of its head. There should be at least 1 inch space between the lower-edge of the cuff and the elbow. Use the fabric softener to make the cuff snug, but make sure it is not too tight.

Inflate and deflate the cuff (if manual monitor).

• Hold the pressure gauge in your left hand and on your right is the bulb. 
• Turn the screw clockwise to close the air flow valve on the bulb. 
• By squeezing the bulb with your right hand, inflate the cuff. By doing this, you will hear the pulse in the stethoscope. 
• Observe the gauge. Keep inflating the cuff until the gauge reads about 30 points(mm Hg) above the patient's expected systolic pressure. 
• Watch the gauge and slowly release the pressure in the cuff by opening the air flow valve counterclockwise. Expect that the gauge will fall only 2 to 3 points with each heartbeat. 
• Listen carefully for the first beat of the pulse. Note the reading on the gauge as soon as you hear it. This is the patient's systolic pressure. 
• Continue to slowly deflate the cuff, listen until the sound disappears. When no more sound is heard, note the reading; this is the patient's diastolic pressure. 
• Let the cuff to completely deflate.

HOW to Choose A Blood Pressure Monitor

Here are the tips that can help you on how to choose the right kind of device:

1. Ensure A Validated Feature. Test if the monitor has been tested, validated, and approved by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and the International Protocol for the Validation of Automated BP Measuring Devices. 
    
2. Ensure That It Meets Your Needs. The selection should consider the condition of the patient, whether he/she is pregnant, an elderly, child, etc. Just make sure that the devices is validated for those conditions. 
    
3. Ensure The Right Size of The Cuff. Children and adults who don't have an average size of arms need special-sized cuffs. They are available in some pharmacies and medical supply companies who sell blood pressure cuffs.

These valuable information will help you as you seek and use blood pressure monitor, as you keep your patient informed about his/her condition.