A sphygmomanometer is a device that measures blood pressure. It composes of an inflatable rubber cuff, which is wrapped around the arm. A measuring device indicates the cuff's pressure. A bulb inflates the cuff and a valve releases pressure. A stethoscope is used to listen to arterial blood flow sounds. ‘As the heart beats, blood forced through the arteries cause a rise in pressure, called systolic pressure, followed by a decrease in pressure as the heart's ventricles prepare for another beat This low pressure is called the diastolic pressure The sphygmomanometer cuff is inflated to well above expected systolic pressure As the valve is opened, cuff pressure (slowly) decreases. When the cuffs pressure equals the arterial systolic pressure, blood begins to flow past the cuff, creating blood flow turbulence and audible sounds. Using a stethoscope, these sounds are heard and the cuff's pressure is recorded. The blood flow sounds will continue until the cuff's pressure falls below the arterial diastolic pressure. The pressure when the blood flow sounds stop indicates the diastolic pressure. Systolic and diastolic pressures are commonly stated as systolic ‘over’ diastolic For example, 120 over 80, Blood flow sounds are called Korotkoff sounds, Description of instrument: Your heart is an continuous pump. It works life long, and it safely pumps blood — one of the trickiest liquids around. In the same way, your blood vessels are pipes. They take the output from the pump and distribute it throughout the body. A blood pressure gauge is simply a way to measure the performance of the pump and the pipes There are two numbers in a blood pressure reading: systolic and diastolic. For example, a typical reading might be 120/80. When the doctor puts the cuff around your arm and pumps it up, what he/she is doing 1s cutting off the biood flow with the pressure exerted by the cutt. As the pressure in the cuff is released, blood starts flowing again and the doctor can hear the flow in the stethoscope. The number at which blood starts flowing (120) is the measure of the maximum output pressure of the heart (systolic reading). The doctor continues releasing the pressure on the cuff and listens until there is no sound That number (80) indicates the pressure in the system when the heart 1s relaxed (diastolic reading) If the numbers are too high, it means that the heart is having to work too hard because of restrictions in the pipes. Certain hormones, like adrenaline (which is released when you are under stress) cause certain blood vessels to constrict, and this raises your blood pressure — if you are under constant stress, your blood pressure goes up, and it means that your heart has to work too hard. Other things that can increase the blood pressure include deposits in the pipes and a loss of elasticity as the blood vessels age. High blood pressure can cause the heart to fail (from working too hard), or it can cause kidney failure (from too much pressure)Wren the cuts inated so that # Stoo eral b00d Few. ro Sound can be heard ‘trough a stetroscope Daced ver the ‘rach artery dtl to the cut Korotcct sounds are creates by pusatie ‘cos flow thvough the compressed artery, {Bc09 tow Lect when the artery ‘Sno tage comoressed‘SYSTOLIC PRESSURE Cutt pressure Pressure in cutis inflated above released to below systole pressure systole but higher (no pulse sounds than diastoke Brachial artery Blood spurts into occluded by cut constricted artery 10 blood flow The Sphygmomanometer is also called a Blood Pressure Cuff Dial =>) Used toread 4 blood pressure cuff Used to temporarily stop blood flow Inflates the cuff to stop blood flow Valve Lets air out of the cuff, allowing it to deflateBlood Pressure Measurement SN