Blood Pressure Measurement: How to Check Blood Pressure Manually

Blood pressure measurement technique: nurse demonstrates how to check a blood pressure manually at home with a blood pressure cuff kit (sphygmomanometer) and stethoscope.

Your blood pressure reading can be an important measurement of your overall health, especially your cardiovascular health. In this video, I provide a demonstration on taking a blood pressure by first listening to the auscultatory gap. This is an important step because some patients (not all) can have a silent gap that can occur, which cause an inaccurate blood pressure reading.

First, you'll want to perform hand hygiene and gather your supplies. Next, have the patient sit down with their arm at heart level and their legs uncrossed.

Palpate to find the brachial artery, which is located near the bend of the arm. Once you find the brachial artery, you'll want to estimate the systolic pressure by inflating the cuff until you can no longer feel the brachial artery.

The point when you no longer feel the brachial artery will be the estimated systolic pressure number. Once you find that number, you'll deflate the cuff and let the patient rest for 30-60 seconds. Next, you'll inflate the cuff 30 mmHg higher than the estimated systolic pressure number that you got earlier.

Once you inflate the cuff to the appropriate point, slowly unscrew the bulb to allow it to fall about 2 mmHg per second, and listen closely for the first sound you hear, which will be your systolic number.

Continue to let the needle fall until you hear the last sound of the pulse, which will be your diastolic number.

Once you have your reading, you can deflate the cuff, remove it, and wipe it off. Then you will document the blood pressure reading.

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[RegisteredNurseRN]

Hey, everyone! Thanks for watching. Don't forget:

[starladear]

I just left my MA clinical and had to go into the bathroom and cry. One of my classmates started making fun of me because I was on leave so some time had passed since I had practice.

I was trying to take my time and get it right so I could get marked off as satisfactory. This girl literally started snickering at me and making fun of me under her breath.

I went into the bathroom and while I was crying I pulled up your video. I don't know what happened but it gave me a surge of confidence. I walked right back into the lab, took my partner's BP and shut her ignorant comments right down.

I'm not doing this for friends or recognition. I'm doing this to give my children a more positive and stable future.

Thank you Nurse Sarah.

[GreatVibrationsAffirmations]

This instruction was WAY better than my first lab day at nursing school. Thank you!

[ankurshah]

Good job on the patient for keeping his BP low while wear an apron and listening to the entire breakdown of BP procedures.

[mskreneeluv]

so glad I found this video, I'm in school to be a medical assistant and due to covid, they have assigned us proctors online for skills check off, the way you explained this went right along with the learning materials. this helped me out a lot.

[vohndaill]

Hi Sarah. Thanks for your very informative and strategic videos. I just took my nclex last May 30, 2019 and passed for 75 items. More power!!!

[ziggystardustxo]

We watched your videos a lot during medical assisting school. Thank you so much for your resources!

[strikermodel]

I have to take my blood pressure daily because mine is pretty high (mostly because of stress and anxiety over my current condition) and this was super easy to follow and understand! Thank you!

[kellyk.]

Excellent video, very clear. And thanks for the extra info with stage one and two hypertension results. I missed this in class. Thank goodness for YouTube 💕

[christopherburke]

Taking an EMT-B class right now-very helpful. Thanks

[w.powers]

This was a better explanation then I received in my EMR class

[AlteSinclair]

I missed my skills lab for vitals and this helped me a lot for my EMT class thank you!!!!

[bsbeach]

Did someone tell you that I am learning this? Lol thanks for posting

[aunties]

Great job Sarah. I really love this particular skill. I work in LTC, and we mainly use mechanical devices for taking BPs.

[hlantolosinathi]

That was so easy😭😭❤ School complicates stuff so much! You're a gem!

[DanRichter]

I've been a nurse for 6 years and still try to avoid manual BP when possible. I never seem to get clear systolic/diastolic numbers. I'll start hearing a weak pulse fade in around 200 and it seemingly never ends, just gets quieter, even after the cuff is all the way to zero.

[Thealonghudson-xzkrto]

She is a very good nurse and she is very gentle ❤

[rainmakerii]

I understood you, much clearer than my EMT instructor.Thanks for this lesson.

[kitajanehelton]

I love y’all so much! Y’all are such big helps for me! I’ve made it thru prerequisites.. now time to apply to the program! 🎉❤ wish me luck!

[nishellal]

This was much better than what our teacher told us in lab