Blood pressure is pressure of arterial blood against the vessel wall. Mainly caused by the pumping action of the heart, and thus decreases further away from the heart.
Patient information
What is blood pressure? It's the pressure of blood, but isn't this contained in the blood vessel?
Blood is contained in vessels, it's moving, and it's a fluid. It keeps moving because it needs to carry oxygen throughout the body. So it's the pressure of blood against it's walls. It's pumping is strongest immediately after blood pumps out of the heart, and is the weakest when it returns to the heart.
Method
Measured at a person's upper arm, specifically, at the brachial artery
Patient information
How do you measure the pressure of blood?
You measure it in the upper arm, specifically, at the brachial artery.
What is the brachial artery?
It's the major blood vessel of the upper arm, it continues from the axillary artery, and continues down the inside part of the arm, until it reaches the cubital fossa at the elbow. There, it divides into the radial and ulnar arteries, which can be found in the inner and outer portions of the arm, respectively.
Classification
Measurement involves:
Diastolic, the minimum pressure, which should be 60-80 in adults
Systolic, the maximum pressure, which should be 90-120 in adults
Reference ranges include:
Age
Systolic
Diastolic
Infants 0-1yo
75-100
50-70
Toddlers and preschoolers 1-5yo
80-110
50-80
School age 6-12yo
85-120
50-80
Adolescents 13-18yo
95-140
60-90
Pathology
Hypotension is a BP< normal. Severe hypotension can deprive organs of oxygen and nutrients, causing life threatening circulatory shock
Hypertension (HTN) is a BP> normal
Doppler systolic to diastolic ratio
Doppler systolic to diastolic ratio (Doppler SD) measures blood flow from maternal circulation, to the placenta
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