Two quick questions about blood pressure

SlyckRN · Jan 2, 2011

You want to use the diaphram of the stethascope. That is the larger end. The bell or smaller side is used to listen to heart sounds such as murmurs. The systolic is read when you first hear the heart beat, the diastolic is the last number when you hear the heart beat. Just because it is starting to fade, you need to keep listening. The needle will usually jump also, but it's based on what you hear. Also remember the size of the cuff counts. If its too big/too small it will directly affect the read BP.

meerkate · Jan 3, 2011

Well I just epicly failed the test for a second time because of my inability to take blood pressure. I have heard every tip out there for taking it and been practicing for months but I just cant get the diastolic pressure right. I guess I don't get to be a cna afterall

yousoldtheworld · Jan 3, 2011

I'm sorry.

You are allowed to take the test 3 times, right? Or is that just in IN? Surely you wouldn't draw blood pressure three times in a row! No one in my class got blood pressure as one of their skills at all.

AzDeb · Jan 4, 2011

I'm sorry to hear you failed. :crying2: Don't give up! I had blood pressure for my skills test and I was more nervous about that than any other skill. I know in Arizona you have to retake the skill you failed, so I'm assuming you would get it again. It's just a matter of listening very closely for that last beat and watching the needle at the same time. See if you can practice with an instructor or someone who can really work with you. Good luck to you!

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · Jan 4, 2011

Are you placing the diaphragm on the brachial artery? I am not sure how your program requires you to take BP. Are you required to palpate the radial artery and pump the cuff until you no longer feel the pulse to estimate the systolic number? I find if I place the diaphragm of the stethoscope on the brachial artery while I am doing the BP, I am able to hear the systolic and diastolic fine. Also, are you releasing at 10mmHg per second? If you release too fast, you can easily miss the diastolic. I would suggest going onto YouTube.com. There are a lot of good videos of how to take BP along with some useful suggestions.

northernguy · Jan 5, 2011

Just practice practice practice, on as many different people as you can. Make sure you understand where the brachial artery is(the medial side of the crease of the elbow). Also I would use the last beat you hear for diastolic, dont worry about when the sound changes.

When I was a student EMT doing clinicals, I was put on the spot by a paramedic on a 911 call when he told me to take blood pressure on a dying patient who had no radial pulse. Im trying to get an accurate BP with a crowd of first responders and hysterical family staring at me, and after a couple tries and telling the paramedic I couldnt hear anything, he literally SHOVED me out of the way and said we have to load and go NOW. It was a horrible experience but it inspired me to practice my ass off. Now I wield a stethoscope and cuff on 911 calls like a surgeon wields a scalpal, it just took practice.