CNA Skill 22

SKILL 22: MEASURES AND RECORDS MANUAL BLOOD PRESSURE (BP)

1. Introduce yourself and explain the procedure to the patient.
2. Perform hand hygiene.
3. Cleanse the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff prior to placing it on the patient’s skin.
4. Place the patient in a relaxed reclining or sitting position. The patient should be seated quietly for at least five minutes in a chair prior to blood pressure measurement. Ask the patient which arm they prefer to use. Both feet should be on the floor and the arm should be supported at heart level.
5. Remove or rearrange clothing so the cuff and the stethoscope are on bare skin.
6. Center the bladder of the blood pressure cuff over the brachial artery with the lower margin 1″ above the antecubital space. Fit the cuff evenly and snugly. Palpate the brachial artery in the antecubital space.
7. Inflate the cuff to 160-180 mmHg.
8. Deflate the cuff gradually at a constant rate by opening the valve on the bulb (2-3 mm Hg/second) until the first Korotkoff sound is heard. Note the systolic pressure.
9. Continue to deflate the cuff slowly at 2 mm Hg/second. Note the point at which Korotkoff sounds disappear completely as the diastolic pressure.
10. Deflate the cuff completely and remove the cuff from the patient’s arm.
11. Inform the patient of the blood pressure reading.
12. Cleanse the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.
13. Perform proper hand hygiene.
14. Document both systolic and diastolic pressures each within plus or minus 8 mm hg of the evaluator’s reading.