How to use a Sphygmomanometer

Conventional (mechanical) sphygmomanometer wit...
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A sphygmomanometer is a medical instrument used to check your blood pressure. This is especially important for those that suffer from hypertension. When entering a doctor’s office, many patients suffer from “white coat syndrome” which refers to the increase in blood pressure as a result of nervousness when approached by a medical professional with a stethoscope. Therefore, regularly taking blood pressure readings at home is a much more accurate method as it occurs in your daily life. Despite the numerous blood pressure units available, the least expensive and most reliable is the sphygmomanometer or manual kit.

Preparing the Medical Instrument

The first step to checking your blood pressure is to carefully remove all instruments from the kit. Next, find an area with enough space that will allow you to rest your arm and bend at the elbow. You need to make sure your elbow is parallel to heart to ensure an accurate reading. While adjusting the equipment, take the reading from your left arm if you are right-handed and vice-versa.

Wearing the Sphygmomanometer

Wrap the cuff of the medical instrument around your arm and secure with Velcro ensuring it is snug but not too tight. Next, put the stethoscope in your ears while placing the head just above your elbow on the inside of the arm. Find the clip on the back of the sphygmomanometer and attach it to something secure. Furthermore, take the blub in the opposite hand and tighten the valve.

Take the Reading

Next, slowly pump the bulb until the needle is between 20 and 30 points above your usual top (systolic) number. Turn the valve and watch the needle fall while listening for a thumping sound. The first thump is the systolic number indicating the greatest amount of pressure exerted on the artery walls. Once that sound fades, you will have your bottom (diastolic) number.

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Monitoring Blood Pressure at Home

Mercury manometer.
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Not everyone out there needs to monitor their blood pressure at home these days but there are some people who need to do this in order to stay healthy and even alive. Those who need to monitor their blood pressure at home are those who have high blood pressure, have different heart conditions, or who have a history of high blood pressure in their home. There is a method for monitoring blood pressure at home and recording your progress is also necessary. Anyone who monitors from home should keep a journal of their blood pressure at various times of the day so they can report their levels to their doctor.

There are two different monitors you can purchase to monitor your blood pressure at home. Those two products are an aneroid monitor or a digital monitor. An aneroid monitor has a gauge on it that needs to be read in order to find out what your blood pressure level is. It has a cuff attached to the monitor that is placed around your arm, held there with Velcro, and is pumped up with a rubber bulb. A digital blood pressure monitor will flash your blood pressure level readings on a digital screen after taking the reading either with a manual or automatic cuff.

When purchasing a blood pressure monitor for your home you should look for the following things:

  • Your doctor or nurse should measure your arm to determine size and figure out which sized cuff is best for your in home machine
  • The numbers should be easy to read on the machine
  • Be able to hear your heart sounds through a stethoscope
  • The most accurate blood pressure machines are not always the most expensive ones on the market so shop around before making a purchase to monitor your blood pressure at home
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Used Blood Pressure Cuffs for the Home

Conventional (mechanical) sphygmomanometer wit...
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If you or a loved one has a history of high or low blood pressure, consider investing in a used blood pressure meter for personal use. These units can be purchased in excellent condition from used medical equipment suppliers at affordable discounts. Having a blood pressure meter on hand can potentially save the life of yourself or a loved one. Persistent high blood pressure (“hypertension”) can lead to heart attacks or strokes, while persistent low blood pressure (“hypotension”) can cause fainting, dizziness, and, in extreme cases, shock.

The standard manual blood pressure meter used by doctors consists of an inflatable cuff, a bulb pump and valve, and a measurement instrument. When measuring blood pressure, the inflatable cuff is fixed around the upper arm at the same height as the heart, and the bulb is used to inflate the cuff until the brachial artery in the upper arm is blocked. The pressure in the cuff is shown on the meter’s measurement instrument, which typically uses mercury to depict pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).  Then, pressure in the cuff is slowly released through the unit’s valve, until the flow of blood through the artery can be heard again. Listening with a stethoscope, the pressure at which blood can be heard flowing through the artery indicates blood pressure.

Normally, when blood flows through the body, the flow of blood can be felt, but not heard. But when a blood pressure cuff is used to block the brachial artery and to let blood slowly back through, the pumping of blood through the artery can be heard. When the cuff loosens enough to allow blood to first be heard again, the pressure in the cuff indicates the systolic blood pressure. When pressure in the cuff drops so low that these sounds can no longer be heard, the pressure at which the sounds can last be heard is the diastolic blood pressure.

Knowing how to measure blood pressure is only a start, however. By buying used blood pressure cuffs, you will have affordable, professional-quality medical equipment which can save your life or that of another.

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More Vital Than a Masters Degree in Nursing

It is a foregone conclusion that a nurse that is worth their salary has got a few things on their belt at all times. A few pairs of rubber gloves (just in case) at the ready are a hallmark of an experienced medical professional. And a decent clipboard with a few bits of medical references on it (such as a CM ruler, pupil gauge and blood pressure charts) can be as good as gold to folks in the nursing profession. And obviously, a proper stethoscope would be worth what you paid for it even if it cost ten times what they do. However, there is one tool out there that pretty much trumps the rest.

While you don’t necessarily need a masters degree in nursing to appreciate the complicated tools in the medical profession, one of the simplest ones is also one of the best for a lot of situations that you are inevitably going to find yourself getting into. If you have not yet guessed what we’re talking about, it’s simple, everyday medical scissors. Do you need to clip a baby’s umbilical cord? Snip! Do you need to handle removing a bandage, or resizing it? Snip, yet again. If there is ever a need to cut something (which only happens about ten times in a slow day), a good, sturdy pair of scissors are a godsend for you.

While there are bent ended scissors designed for getting underneath bandages easily, some of the most important features are the materials your scissors are made out of, and whether they have additional attachments to facilitate getting things done a bit more easily. Obviously, you are going to want your scissors to be made out of stainless steel, because there is no room for rust in medicine. And in some very convenient cases, there are attachments on scissors for operations like handling and unscrewing IV tubes.

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Equipment That Treats Patients in Hypovolemic Shock

Hypovolemia is a condition that could prove fatal for a victim. It occurs when there is a significant decrease in blood plasma volume. Hypovolemia can be caused by dehydration, hemorrhaging, severe burns, diuretics, sweating,vomiting, and alcohol consumption. When a patient is suffering from hypovolemia, there are different methods and equipment that help the patient become stable again.

Sometimes the patient is given a blood transfusion, which re-oxygenates the blood. The victim might also have to wear trauma air pants, which provide counter pressure around the abdomen and legs. The air pants are used by emergency responders and are also used during a hospital stays.

When an individual is experiencing hypovolemia, medical professionals should monitor the kidneys and heart. The granular cells in the kidneys recognize changes in blood flow. When blood flow decreases, the kidneys secrete renin, a hormone that flows into the blood, converting to protein angiotensinogen to angiotensin. The angiotensin uses enzymes to convert to angiotensin II, which stimulates hormone release that helps the kidneys reabsorb sodium, thereby reabsorb in water. The angiotensin II contracts arterial muscles, increasing blood pressure.

The stretch receptors in the heart monitor the amount of blood that pumps from the veins into the heart. When the blood flow decreases, the receptors automatically reduce the release of atrial natriuretic peptide. To monitor the kidneys and heart, you might want to purchase the appropriate equipment.

Consult with an expert at a used medical equipment supply store to determine what the best equipment on the market is.
At a used medical equipment supply store, you can get top-quality equipment, used and refurbished, at a deep discount. Monitors and trauma air pants purchased in used medical equipment supply stores can help you diagnose hypovolemia in a victim or patient. They can help you treat to patient, and could even help save the life of the patient.

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