Very confused here. I was taught that when you take a blood pressure, your diastolic number is the LAST sound you hear and not when the "sound changes"....a ton of nurses at my summer job keep telling me that I am wrong with my blood pressures.
They all keep telling me that the number you record is when you hear the sound change and not your final one (because some pts have diastolic's that keep going until practically 0).
And its not only one or two nurses that have told me this...several have.
Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.
Maybe you're pushing too hard with your stethoscope.
Just like how every patient has an abdominal bruit if you push too hard.
No, I don't think so. I've taken a lot of BPs and have experimented with how I take the BP. I can take an accurate BP though, I just have to listen for the change.
Same here. If there is ever a question of a strange number from the machine, I'll get a manual cuff, and the numbers are always very close, within 1-2. So, I'll keep doing it this way, the way I was taught.
Maybe that would be a good experiment for you? Try taking the manual BP, then use the machine and see wha the difference is.
I was taught that the diastolic was the last sound and that's what I've always done and haven't heard anything different.
Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.
Or, they are picking up their own pulse, especially if using the thumb to press too hard.
No, definitely not hearing my own pulse. I can tell because the heart rate stays the same--unchanged. This is especially evident if the patient has an irregular rate.
Since I missed this thread on the 'first go-round', I'll weigh in now. Many med-surg texts are starting to address this issue. Some even mention recording a three-number BP in cases where there is either an auscultatory gap or a big difference between the 'change' and the 'end.'
Dolce, RN
861 Posts
No, I don't think so. I've taken a lot of BPs and have experimented with how I take the BP. I can take an accurate BP though, I just have to listen for the change.