Question

For a client with a previous blood pressure of 138/74 and pulse of 64, approximately how long should the nurse take to release the blood pressure cuff in order to obtain an accurate reading?

1) 10-20 seconds
2) 30-45 seconds
3) 1-1.5 minutes
4) 3-3.5 minutes

Answer 1

For an accurate blood pressure reading, the nurse should deflate the blood pressure cuff over 30-45 seconds to properly detect Korotkoff sounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

To obtain an accurate blood pressure reading, a nurse should release the blood pressure cuff at a rate that allows the clinician to listen for the Korotkoff sounds, which reflect the resumption of blood flow through the partially occluded artery. An appropriate rate of deflation for most manual sphygmomanometers is about 2-3 mmHg per second. Given this rate of deflation and an average blood pressure range, the cuff pressure should be released over a period of roughly 30-45 seconds to ensure accurate and reliable readings. For a client with a previous blood pressure of 138/74 and a pulse of 64, the nurse should aim to deflate the cuff within this time frame.