What is the correct way to measure blood pressure?

China's population aging is becoming more and more serious. As we all know, the elderly are prone to high blood pressure. According to statistics, there are now 200 million hypertensive patients in China, which is a huge number. Therefore, the harm of high blood pressure is very serious and will seriously affect people's health. People with high blood pressure have very poor resistance, so they are prone to various diseases. High blood pressure itself can also cause many systemic diseases, so timely control of the school is very important, but many people do not understand the fluctuation of blood pressure, nor do they understand the level of their own blood pressure. Therefore, middle-aged and elderly people must measure their blood pressure regularly. Now measuring blood pressure is actually very simple. The correct measurement method is as follows.

Correct way to measure blood pressure:

1. The person being measured should rest quietly for at least 5 minutes, refrain from smoking and drinking coffee within 30 minutes before measurement, and empty the bladder.

2. The person being measured should sit down, preferably in a chair with a backrest; expose his right upper arm and place his elbow at the same level as his heart. If peripheral vascular disease is suspected, blood pressure should be measured in both arms during the first visit. In special circumstances, blood pressure can be measured in a supine or standing position; the elderly, diabetics and those who often suffer from orthostatic hypotension should measure blood pressure in a standing position. Standing blood pressure measurement should be performed 2 minutes after changing from supine to standing position. Regardless of the subject's position, the sphygmomanometer should be placed at heart level.

3. Use a cuff of appropriate size. The air bag inside the cuff should cover at least 80% of the upper arm. Most people's arm circumference is 25 to 35 cm, so it is appropriate to use an air bag cuff with a width of 13 to 15 cm and a length of 30 to 35 cm. Obese people or those with large arm circumference should use a large cuff, and children should use a smaller cuff.

4. Tie the cuff tightly around the subject's upper arm, with the lower edge of the cuff 2.5 cm above the elbow. Place the probe of the stethoscope over the brachial artery in the antecubital fossa.

5. It is best to choose a mercury column sphygmomanometer that meets measurement standards for measurement. If a mechanical sphygmomanometer or an electronic sphygmomanometer that meets international standards (BHS and AAMI) is used, it is necessary to measure and calibrate it simultaneously with the mercury column sphygmomanometer.

6. During measurement, the balloon is inflated quickly, and the pressure inside the balloon should reach the point where the radial artery pulse disappears and then rises by 30 mmHg (4.0 kPa), and then it is slowly deflated at a constant rate (2 to 6 mmHg/second). The deflation rate is slower when the heart rate is slower. After taking the diastolic reading, quickly deflate to zero.

7. During the deflation process, listen carefully to the Korotkoff sounds and observe the vertical height of the convex surface of the mercury column during the first and fifth phases of the Korotkoff sounds. The systolic pressure reading is taken when Korotkoff sounds are in phase I, and the diastolic pressure reading is taken when Korotkoff sounds are in phase V (disappearance of the sound). For children, pregnant women, patients with severe anemia, aortic valve insufficiency or those with persistent Korotkoff sounds, the diastolic pressure is determined as the IV phase (change in sound) of the Korotkoff sounds.

8. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The conversion relationship between millimeters of mercury and kilopascals (kPa) is 1mmHg=0.133kPa.

9. The measurement should be repeated 2 minutes apart and the average of the 2 readings should be recorded. If the difference between the 2 measured systolic or diastolic blood pressure readings was >5 mmHg, the measurement was repeated 2 minutes later and the average of the 3 readings was taken.