Question: Taking Blood Pressure Manually?

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Hey guys,

So I am enrolled in a certified nursing assistant program and last time we started doing blood pressure measurements manually. I am really confused on a certain aspect of the procedure; the diastolic pressure measurement.

My instructor told me this:

The first sound you hear is Systolic pressure ( I get this)

Then she said that diastolic pressure is the last "distinct" sound you hear before it murmurs then goes silent. This I do not get. I always thought that diastolic pressure was recorded when you don't hear any more sounds. I have read this in a lot of other articles also.

Example of the confusion

My instructor had a stethocope that had two ear pieces so we could each hear. I got 120/78 and she got 118/110. How does that happen? Isn't 110 kind of a high for an average sized healthy guy? so confused....

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Specializes in MSN, FNP-BC.

The diastolic pressure comes from the last heart sound you hear.

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The diastolic pressure comes from the last heart sound you hear.

But is that last sound a clear sound or is it a faint murmur? This is the confusing part for me.

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Specializes in Alzheimer's Unit, Cardiac.

I had trouble with this also. The way I understand it is... it is the last distinct heart sound you hear. You are prolly counting the VERY last faint sound you hear when you should be counting the last very DIStinct sound you hear. ((If that makes any sense.)) It takes a lot of practice. See if your teacher will sit down and practice with you with a dual stethescope. You'll get it... don't give up!

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Specializes in ICU.

When I take a BP manually, the last sound that I hear for the diastolic is the one that I put down on paper.

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