EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -To measure blood pressure, your doctor uses an instrument call a sphygmomanometer, which is more often referred to as a blood pressure cuff. The cuff is wrapped around your upper arm and inflated to stop the flow of blood in your artery.

Detailed explanation-2: -How do health care professionals measure my blood pressure? First, a health care professional wraps an inflatable cuff around your arm. The health care professional then inflates the cuff, which gently tightens on your arm. The cuff has a gauge on it that will measure your blood pressure.

Detailed explanation-3: -To begin, place the cuff on your bare upper arm one inch above the bend of your elbow. Pull the end of the cuff so that it’s evenly tight around your arm. You should place it tight enough so that you can only slip two fingertips under the top edge of the cuff. Make sure your skin doesn’t pinch when the cuff inflates.

Detailed explanation-4: -Blood pressure is measured in units of millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The readings are always given in pairs, with the upper (systolic) value first, followed by the lower (diastolic) value.

Detailed explanation-5: -The sphygmometer measures BP by balancing air pressure against the pressure of blood in the artery. The sphygmomanometer consists of an inflatable pressure cuff which is wrapped around the patients upper arm and connected to a mercury type Page 2 manometer or to a pressure gauge.