BLOOD PRESSURE

2F

Topic Outline:
• Blood Pressure • Turbulence produces vibrations -> Korotkoff
• Auscultatory Method
• Pressure and Resistance sounds
➢ Pulse Pressure (PP) • Pressure at which the first Korotkoff sound is
• Pulse heard is the systolic pressure
• Effects of Aging on the Blood Vessels
• Pressure at which the last Korotkoff sound is
heard is the diastolic pressure
Blood Pressure
• No longer turbulent, the sound disappears
• Measure of the force the blood exerts
completely
against the blood vessel walls
• SYSTOLIC PRESSURE – ventricles contract,
Pressure and Resistance
blood is forced into the arteries, and the
• Resistance to blood flow is related to the
pressure reaches a maximum value
diameter of the blood vessel.
• DIASTOLIC PRESSURE – ventricles relax, blood
• Smaller the diameter of the blood vessel,
pressure in the arteries falls to a minimum
the greater the resistance to flow; the more
value
rapid decrease in pressure as blood flows
• Standard unit of measurement millimeters of
through smaller vessels
mercury (mmHg)
• Most rapid decline in blood pressure occurs
in the arterioles and capillaries because
Auscultatory Method
their small diameters increase the resistance
• Stethoscope is placed over the brachial
to blood flow
artery
• Cuff is then inflated until the brachial artery
is completely blocked
• Pressure in the cuff is then gradually lowered
• Blood flows through the constricted area
each time the left ventricle contracts

1
 Effects of Aging on the Blood Vessels
Pulse Pressure (PP) • Reduced elasticity and thickening of arterial
• Difference between the systolic and walls result in hypertension and decreased
diastolic pressures ability to respond to changes in blood
• Two factors affect pulse pressure: stroke pressure.
volume and vascular compliance • Atherosclerosis is an age-related condition.
• The efficiency of capillary exchange
decreases with age.
• Walls of veins thicken in some areas and
• Volume of • Ability of a blood vessel
dilate in others. Thromboses, emboli,
blood wall to expand and
varicose veins, and hemorrhoids are age-
ejected by contract passively with
related conditions.
the heart changes in pressure
per beat • Related to the elasticity
• SV is of the blood vessel wall
directly • Vascular compliance is
proportional inversely proportional to
to the PP the PP

Pulse
• Pressure wave that results from the ejection
of blood from the LV into the aorta
• Felt at locations where large arteries are
close to the surface of the body