Blood Pressure Measurement (BP)

Waist Measurement

Waist circumference (distance around the waist) is a common measure used to check for fat held around the stomach. Having extra body fat around the stomach— more than 35 in. (88 cm) for women and more than 40 in. (102 cm) for men—increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes. How to measure waist circumference:

 Stand and place a tape measure around your body just above the hipbone. This is usually at the level of your belly button

 Make sure tape is horizontal around the waist

 Keep the tape snug around the waist, but not compressing the skin

 Measure the waist just after the person breathes out Measuring Weight Accurately

To measure weight

1. Use a digital scale. Avoid using bathroom scales that are spring-loaded. Place the scale on firm flooring (such as tile or wood) rather than carpet.

2. Have the person remove shoes and heavy clothing, such as sweaters.

3. Have the person stand with both feet in the center of the scale.

4. Record the weight to the nearest decimal fraction (for example, 55.5 pounds or 25.1 kilograms).

Measuring Height Accurately To measure height accurately:

1. Have the person remove shoes, bulky clothing, and hair ornaments, and unbraid hair that interferes with the measurement.

2. Take the height measurement on flooring that is not carpeted and against a flat surface such as a wall with no molding.

3. Have the person stand with feet flat, together, and against the wall. Make sure legs are straight, arms are at sides, and shoulders are level.

4. Make sure the person is looking straight ahead and that the line of sight is parallel with the floor. Measuring Height Accurately

5. Take the measurement while the person stands with head, shoulders, buttocks, and heels touching the flat surface (wall). (See illustration.) Depending on the overall body shape of the person, all points may not touch the wall.

6. Use a flat headpiece to form a right angle with the wall and lower the headpiece until it firmly touches the crown of the head.

7. Make sure the measurer's eyes are at the same level as the headpiece.

8. Lightly mark where the bottom of the headpiece meets the wall. Then, use a metal tape to measure from the base on the floor to the marked measurement on the wall to get the height measurement.

9. Accurately record the height to the nearest 1/8th inch or 0.1 centimeter. Blood Pressure Measurement (BP)

*Do not take the BP if there is a rash, breaks in the skin, or an open wound on the arm. *Do not use BP machine near a cell phone or microwave as it causes a problem with the machine.

1. Start by sitting in a chair with the person’s hands and arms on the arms of the chair. Make sure their back is flat against the chair and their feet are both flat on the floor. Before checking a blood pressure, have the person sit in this position for 2-5 minutes. If the person has to use the bathroom, do so before sitting down as this affects the BP reading. If the person has smoked, drank caffeine, or just ate a meal, you need to wait 30 minutes after to check BP.

2. Plug the BP cuff into the machine.

3. Place the blood pressure cuff around the person’s left upper arm 3/4 to 1 inch above your elbow. Make sure the tube is closer to the inner side of the lower arm. The small white arrow (Artery Mark) must lie over the artery which runs on the inner side of the arm. Clothing should not fit too closely around the arm. Also make sure the cuff is not too large or too small and fits properly on the arm. You should be able to fit 2 fingers between your arm and the cuff. If it is loose and can slide off or if it is so tight that you can’t stick the Velcro together, it is not the right size and will give you false blood pressure readings. If you can’t stick the Velcro together, you need to use a large cuff. If it is too loose, re-apply the cuff.

4. Lay the person’s arm on a table with palm upward so the cuff is on the same level as the heart and make sure the tube is not kinked

5. Press the on/off/ start button on the blood pressure machine and the cuff will begin to inflate. This may be uncomfortable for a moment but won't last long. When the machine has found the pulse, the heart symbol in the display will begin to blink and you will hear a beeping tone. Sit still while the machine measures the blood pressure. If you need to stop the measurement for any reason, press the on/off/start button and the cuff will start deflating. 6. When the machine is finished measuring the blood pressure, a long tone will sound and the measured systolic and diastolic blood pressure values and the pulse are displayed. Write the numbers down. For example: 110/80 pulse 60

7. After writing the blood pressure down, make sure the machine is turned off. If the BP numbers are above 140 or below 105 (systolic-top number) or above 90 or below 60 (diastolic-bottom number), you need to talk to the clinic nurse to have it rechecked.

Blood Pressure Measurement (BP)

Understanding The Medical Terms  Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of the artery.

 Hypertension means high blood pressure.

 Hypotension means low blood pressure.

 Brachial artery is a blood vessel that goes from your shoulder to just below your elbow. You measure the pressure in this artery.

 Systolic pressure is the highest pressure in an artery when your heart is pumping blood to your body.

 Diastolic pressure is the lowest pressure in an artery when your heart is at rest.

 Blood pressure measurement is made up of both the systolic and the diastolic pressure. It is normally written like this: 120/80, with the systolic (top) number first. Method: 1. Take off shoes and anything on your head that would inflate your height (besides hair). 2. Stand with your back against the wall with your feet together, preferably near a straight edge or a door hinge (explained in step 6). 3. The back of your feet, butt, shoulders, and the back of the head should be touching the wall. Look straight ahead with your chin tucked in. This ensures that your body is as straight as possible. Imagine how a soldier stands and salutes to his officer – that is the stance you need to strive for. 4. If you are by yourself, have the box in one hand and pencil in the other before you start measuring. Once in good position, raise the box to the top of your head, push it against the wall, and push it down to your head. Practice this with a mirror or friend to make sure the box is horizontal to the floor and perpendicular to the wall (that is 90 degrees, for those who are still in geometry) . Keeping the box flat on your height and right-angle to the wall is crucial to an accurate height measurement. A slight tilt could mean a few inches of difference. 5. Mark the head level position with the pencil. If you are alone, you will need to pull some ninja moves keep the box in contact with the wall while sliding yourself out of the measuring position to mark your height on the said surface. This can be achieved by pushing the box against the wall while you bend your knees to slide out of the standing position. Alternatively, you can find the lower edge of the box while still in measuring position with one finger, slide out of position without moving your finger, and mark your height. If you are some kind of superhuman, you can skip the whole body sliding thing and just mark your height while you’re still against the wall with a box on top of your head. Regardless of which way you do it, make sure the box does not slide out of place before you make your mark. Because you could be moving quite a bit with both shoulders raised, it might take some practice before you can take a good measurement. This is the hardest of all steps. If you are with another person, steps 4 and 5 are easily achieved. 6. Use the measuring tape from the ground up to figure out your height. Make extra effort to make sure the tape is straight. This is where a door hinge or a corner come in handy as they can serve as a straight guide for the tape. 7. (Optional) You could use the tape measure to accurately mark a few labels near your height. This way, you can quickly figure out new measurements based on the pre-determined positions with a small ruler. This will save you the trouble of aligning the tape over and over again.