How to Measure It in Adults The force of blood against your artery walls is referred as blood pressure (National Stroke Association, 2014). Heighted blood pressure or Hypertension, affects nearly one third of the population, 67 million individuals aged 18-older (Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring, 2013). High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and ophthalmic issues (Medline Plus, 2012). According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2010), the hypertension mortality rate among Erie County, NY, is about 233.5-395.3 cases per 100,000 for the years 2008-2010. Erie County also has one of the highest mortality rates for stroke and heart disease in the years 2008-2010 (CDC, 2010). For our external learning experience, we will be working with adult residents of East Side community in Buffalo, NY at the We Care Block Center. Local adult residents of all ages are welcome to attend the health promotion teaching presented by our group that will take place on April, 18th 2014. Based on an aggregate problem oriented assessment, a review of current health and nursing literature, the purpose of this paper is present the portion I constructed for our health promotion teaching plan. It will include the importance of monitoring blood pressure and the best way to measure the blood pressure based on current health evidence. Aggregate Problem Oriented Assessment According to Allender, Rector, &Warner (2014), an aggregate problem oriented assessment is taking the focus of a communities need based on a single problem (2014). Our group met with Elizabeth Trigg’s, local resident and representative of the None like You, We Care non-profit community outreach program. Trigg’s discussed c... ... middle of paper ... ... Pressure Measurement. A Service of the U.S National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007490.htm National Stroke Association. (2014). High Blood Pressure (Hypertension).Retrieved from http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=highbloodpressure Schrauf, C.M. (2012). Monitoring blood pressure: Do method and body location matter? Nephrology Nursing Journal, 39(6), 502-512. Self-Measuring Blood Pressure Monitoring. (2013). Action Steps for Public Health Practitioners. A Million Hearts: Action Guide. 1-21 Tomlinson, B. (2010). Accurately measuring blood pressure: factors that contribute to false measurements. MEDSURG Nursing, 19(2), 90-94 Uhlg, K., Patel, K., Ip, S., Kitsios, G., & Balk, E. (2013). Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring in the Management of Hypertension. Annals of Internal Medicine, 159(3), 185-194
As early as the 1800s clinicians began to take a closer look at elevated blood pressure levels, they soon found high correlation between hypertension, stroke, and other heart diseases. They also established that high levels of blood pressure effected both privilege and underprivileged, and within the years they have noted the disease have become more prevalent in the African American culture. Long term studies, such as randomized controlled trial studies, unveiled
The individual will have their blood pressure levels taken using a blood pressure machine called a sphygmomanometer, where a cuff is placed around the individual’s arm and fills up with air to create pressure around the arm to restrict the amount of blood flow and takes a pulse reading as it releases the pressure. After the individual’s blood pressure has been taken they may be asked to take it at home using a blood pressure kit to see if it is still high and that the first reading was not due to anxiety.
The Mayo Clinic’s book on High Blood Pressure was full of detailed facts about blood pressure and what it is. This is extremely significant to the experiment because blood pressure is one of the variables being tested. Understanding blood pressure is one of the key components to receiving accurate results from this experiment. Most of the book is on high blood pressure, which is not necessary for the experiment, but the book still had plenty of useful information about blood pressure itself. The book explains that when the heart beats, a surge of blood is released from the left ventricle. It also tells of how arteries are blood vessels that move nutrients and oxygenated blood from the heart to the body’s tissues. The aorta, or the largest artery in the heart, is connected to the left ventricle and is the main place for blood to leave the heart as the aorta branches off into many different smaller
• Hypertension: Hypertension is an abnormal increase in the systolic,diastolic or mean arterial pressure, or all three. This is due to increased arterial stiffness and can be monitored using PWA
This paper will provide as an example to how we as nurses can be successful in applying the nursing process and various technological advances to promote the health and well being of our patients. Involved in this process, we must include the following criteria: a understanding of health promotion, a value of health promotion, strategies and content to promote health, involve the patient in the process, address barriers to successful health promotion, and utilize facilitators to health promotion (Whitehead et al. 2008).. We must not focus only on where the patient’s health status is currently but on promoting the positive well being they want to and can move to with our aid and encouragement.
High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because it often has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people don’t know they have it. For most patients, high blood pressure is found when they visit their health care provider or have it checked elsewhere. Because there are no symptoms, people can develop heart disease and kidney problems without knowing they have high blood pressure. Some people may experience: bad headache, mild dizziness, and blurry vision. Traditionally, diagnosis of high blood pressure (BP) has relied on consecutive checks of clinic BP over a 2 to 3 month period, with hypertension confirmed if BP remains persistently raised over 140/90 mmHg. This method of diagnosis has significant limitations because the BP measured for an individual patient in a clinic setting may not reflect their BP in day-to-day life. The main concern is that as a result of the “white coat syndrome”, hypertension may be over-diagnosed when checked in the clinic setting; resulting ...
Over the last few years, I shadowed a Primary Care Adult Nurse Practitioner whose office is located in the underserved urban area of Irvington, NJ. She also takes care of patients from the surrounding areas of Irvington, Newark, and East Orange, all of which have very large underserved populations including African Americans, Latinos, and patients from the Middle East. During my clinical shadowing, I gained a appreciation for the complexity of treating long term chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, HIV, and hypertension. In many cases these conditions were exacerbated due to poor nutrition, non-compliance, and lack of education about healthy lifestyle choices. I gained a keen understanding of the importance of patient education and the ability to connect patients with community services to help them with their economic and social challenges.
Hypertension is diagnosed by measuring the blood pressure by a device known as the sphygmomanometer. Blood pressure is taken and presented by the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. The systolic and diastolic numbers will be recorded and compared to a chart of values. At the same time, doctor would also ask for patient’s family history of hypertension and the associated risk factors such as high cholesterol food intake.
" Journal of Clinical Hypertension 13.5 (2011): 351-56. EBSOHost.com - a. Web. The Web.
The research problem is clearly stated in the introduction and various times during the literature review. While it is known that automatic sphygmomanometers are not as accurate when compared to the gold standard of manual sphygmomanometer during single blood pressure readings they are still being used a triage instruments in emergency departments (Dind, Short, Ekholm, & Holdgate, 2011, p. 526). Triage is an essential step in the emergency department and instruments used in triage need to be accurate. Little is known about the accuracy of automatic devices when assessing postural blood pressures. It is shown in this study that orthostatic hypotension is a direct link to what triage category the patient is assigned, which can affect variables such as wait time and care received, so accurate measurement of this is an important factor in the emergency setting (Dind et al., 2011, p. 531).
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major health condition which affects many Americans. This health condition may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. A normal blood pressure consists of systolic blood pressure divided by diastolic blood pressure, 120/80mmHg (millimeters of mercury). High blood pressure is defined as systolic pressure which is greater than 140mm Hg, and diastolic pressure which is over 90mm Hg. Hypertension influences the health outcomes of black Americans more than other races in the United States. Racial discrimination and socioeconomic status are two major factors which influence the rate of high blood pressure in the black American population.
Blood pressure is measured by two pressures; the systolic and diastolic. The systolic pressure, the top number, is the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts. The diastolic pressure, the bottom number, measures the pressure between heartbeats. A normal blood pressure is when the systolic pressure is less than 120mmHg and Diastolic pressure is less than 80mmHg. Hypertension is diagnosed when the systolic pressure is greater than 140mmHg and the diastolic pressure is greater than 90mmHg. The physician may also ask about medical history, family history, life style habits, and medication use that could also contribute to hypertension
D. standing near her room, breathing sharply. While asked what has just happened, she answered, ‘I feel dizzy and can faint!’ Mrs. D. then explained that she rose up from her chair in the television room and felt lightheaded. I decided to bring her to the room hoping she would feel less dizziness if she could sit. After consultation with my mentor and third year unit nursing student, I decided to perform measurement of her vital signs. Since only electronic sphygmomanometer was available for me that time, I had to use it for my procedure. Gladly, I discovered that I have already used such equipment in my previous nursing practice. Using the standard sized calf, I found that her blood pressure was 135/85, respirations were 16, and her pulse was 96 beats per minute (bpm). However, I decided to recheck the pulse manually, founding that it was irregular (78 bpm). The patient stated that she felt better after rest. Immediately after the incident I made a decision to explore carefully the medical chart of Mrs. D., along with her nursing care plan. That helped me to discover multiple medical diagnoses influencing her
Discussing potential risk issues associated with using automated blood pressure/pulse machine in relation to contemporary practice.
Schnall, P., Landsbergis, P., Belkic, K., Warren, K., Schwartz, J., & Pickering, T. (1998). Findings In The Cornell University Ambulatory Blood Pressure Worksite Study: A Review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 697.