How to use a mercury sphygmomanometer

As people's living standards improve, dietary conditions are also improving. Various factors have led to an increasing number of patients with hypertension, and the number is tending to be younger. Regular blood pressure testing is undoubtedly a compulsory course for patients with hypertension. Some people go to clinics or hospitals for measurement, but that is rather troublesome. Some people use electronic blood pressure monitors, but the measurement data is not very accurate. Only the mercury sphygmomanometer can measure the most accurate results, but its use is relatively complicated.

This is the case where there are pros and cons. Electronic blood pressure monitors are easy to operate, but the data is inaccurate, which is equivalent to not measuring at all. The use of mercury sphygmomanometer is more complicated, but the value is more accurate. Taking all factors into consideration, more people will choose mercury sphygmomanometer to measure blood pressure. The following is an introduction to the use of mercury sphygmomanometer:

1 The person being measured should refrain from smoking, drinking, coffee, or consuming foods that may cause excitement or stimulation within half an hour before measuring blood pressure. If you have just exercised, you should sit and rest for at least ten minutes in a quiet environment to calm your emotions and relax. Otherwise, the activity or nervousness will cause the measured value to be too high.

2 After turning on the sphygmomanometer, turn on the switch and check whether the mercury column is at the "0" scale. If not, it should be calibrated, otherwise it will affect the measured value.

3 Turn off the switch of the balloon, hold the cuff with one hand, and press the balloon with the other hand to inflate the cuff to see if the mercury column rises or if there is any mercury interruption. If it cannot rise or has cracks, it means that the sphygmomanometer has a leak or the amount of mercury has decreased. Such a sphygmomanometer can no longer be used for measurement.

4 When the weather is hot, roll up your sleeves to expose most of your upper arms. It is best to take off your sleeves. When the weather is cold, try to wear as few clothes as possible on your measuring arm without affecting your warmth, so as to avoid high blood pressure due to too much clothing.

5 When measuring blood pressure, the person being measured can sit or lie on his back with his upper limbs straight. The elbows should be kept at the same level as his heart and slightly extended outward.

6 After the gas in the cuff is exhausted by squeezing the cuff, align the middle part of the cuff air bag connected to the rubber tube with the elbow pit and wrap the cuff evenly around the upper arm. The lower end of the cuff should be 2-3 cm above the elbow, and the tightness should be such that one finger can be inserted into it.

7 When measuring, the chest piece of the stethoscope, that is, the earpiece should be placed on the brachial artery in the antecubital fossa. Do not put it inside the cuff for the sake of convenience, as this will make the measured blood pressure value higher than the actual value.

8 Put on the stethoscope, turn off the balloon switch, inflate the cuff until the pulsation sound of the brachial artery disappears, and then inflate it again to make the mercury column continue to rise by 20-30mmHg. Keep your eyes level with the mercury column scale, turn on the balloon switch, and deflate the balloon evenly and slowly at a rate of 4 mmHg per second, not too fast.

9 During the descent of the mercury column, the scale represented by the first clear pulse sound heard is the subject's systolic blood pressure. Then you will continue to hear the pulsation sound. When the pulsation sound suddenly becomes very weak or disappears, the scale indicated is the diastolic pressure.

10. If the blood pressure value is too abnormal during measurement, or the person measuring does not hear clearly, the gas in the cuff should be exhausted first, the mercury column should be lowered to the "0" mark again, and then a second measurement should be performed after a while. Generally, continuous measurement should not be performed more than twice, and the lowest result obtained shall prevail.

11After the measurement, remove the cuff, squeeze out the air, turn off the balloon switch, fold it and put it in the box. Do not forget to tilt the cover of the sphygmomanometer 45° to the right to allow the mercury to flow completely back into the tank, then turn off the switch of the mercury tank and close the cover. If the mercury is not returned, the mercury column will break when it is used next time, and the mercury will evaporate very quickly. Some mercury sphygmomanometers now have clear instructions that backflow is not necessary. This depends on the manufacturer's product instructions.

The above introduces the use of a mercury sphygmomanometer. It may seem complicated, but if you practice it a few times, you will become proficient in it. This is what practice makes perfect mean. Moreover, the price of the Watermark Sphygmomanometer is relatively low, and it is a measuring instrument that patients with hypertension should have at home. Regularly measuring blood pressure can help patients with hypertension understand whether the medications they are taking are appropriate and help them better control their blood pressure. If there is someone with high blood pressure in your family, you might as well learn the above steps for measuring blood pressure.