Question about manual blood pressure monitoring

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Hey guys! Nursing student here.

I have a question - I know how to take blood pressure, and have been checked off on being able to do it. However, when I compare my results against a digital cuff, it's off by a large margin. What's going on? I've been careful with the cuff size and how much I inflate it, so I don't get the discrepancy.

Thanks!

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Specializes in Critical care.

Are you having this issue with all BPs or is it just certain ones? It could be you need more practice taking a manual or it could be that the manual is not picking up an accurate reading, which can happen for different reasons. I had a patient just the other day that I didn't even pay attention to the electronic reading and just did my own manual BPs. This particular patient was in Afib and that can cause inaccurate electronic readings.

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Specializes in NICU, RNC.

Is it a wrist cuff by any chance? Wrist cuffs are notorious for being off by a 10-20 mmHg

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Specializes in Hospice.
Are you having this issue with all BPs or is it just certain ones? It could be you need more practice taking a manual or it could be that the manual is not picking up an accurate reading which can happen for different reasons. I had a patient just the other day that I didn't even pay attention to the electronic reading and just did my own manual BPs. This particular patient was in Afib and that can cause inaccurate electronic readings.[/quote']

I think it's more likely that the automatic cuff is inaccurate, especially if the manual cuff is properly calibrated.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

From my own experience, taking one's own BP measurement isn't exactly easy. I can do it... but I've got years of experience to help me. I would suggest that you have someone else take your BP manually and then use the digital cuff (make sure you're following directions exactly) and see how far off the two readings are. The manual one is likely going to be correct.

There are a number of factors that can change a person's BP reading. A-Fib, positioning of the cuff on the patient, muscle tone, the actual position of the patient, the relative position of the cuff vs heart in the vertical plane...

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Hello,

From my experience, if the HR is low/higher than normal or the pulse is thread or bounding, this can affect the readings on an electric cuff. I have had electronic BP cuffs read stroke levels/bottoming out when the manual read 130-140/60-80 mmHg. I have had others check my measurements. I hope this is helpful.

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Specializes in Critical care.
Are you having this issue with all BPs or is it just certain ones? It could be you need more practice taking a manual or it could be that the manual is not picking up an accurate reading which can happen for different reasons. I had a patient just the other day that I didn't even pay attention to the electronic reading and just did my own manual BPs. This particular patient was in Afib and that can cause inaccurate electronic readings.[/quote']

whoops, was rushing out the door on my way to work and totally messed up what I wanted to say. I meant it could be the electronic (not manual) is not picking up an accurate reading.

I did manual BPs today on 2 different patients and the electronic readings were way off. If an aide reports weird numbers I'll retake the pressure electronically (sometimes getting normal readings) then I'll do a manual BP if I get a wonky reading with the electronic BP.

I also have to say, it's a pet peeve of mine when I go to get a patient's vitals and the BP cuff that everyone has been using is very clearly the wrong size.

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NEED ADVICE!!! My class is taking the NA 1 written and skills test tomorrow and I am so nervous! I heard that one girl from another class failed yesterday when they took theirs, they said her mind went blank!! Any pointers, tips, advice, etc would be greatly appreciated!!

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