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3: |
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Recommended
Methods for Blood Pressure Measurements from JNC VI
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- Use a mercury
sphygmomanometer (preferred), a recently calibrated aneroid manometer,
or a validated electronic device, with an appropriate cuff size.
The bladder within the cuff should encircle at least 80% of the
patient's arm.
- Instruct
patients not to smoke or ingest caffeine for at least 30 minutes
prior to the measurement.
- Patients
should be seated in a chair with their backs supported and with
their arms bared and supported at the level of the heart. Five
minutes of rest should proceed the first measurement.
- The appearance
of the first sound marks SBP; the disappearance of sound marks
DBP. Both pressures are recorded.
- Measurements
should be taken multiple times. Two or more measurements taken
2 minutes apart should be averaged. If the first two readings
differ by more than 5 mm Hg, additional readings should be obtained
and averaged.
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