Blood pressures are composed of two values, the systolic and diastolic pressures. The systolic pressure is the pressure inside the arteries when the left ventricle of the heart is contracting. A normal systolic pressure has a reading of 120 mmHg. The diastolic pressure is the pressure inside the arteries when the left ventricle of the heart is relaxed. A normal diastolic pressure reads about 80 mmHg.Here is a general guide for how to measure blood pressure. What you will need is a sphygmomanometer, or a blood pressure cuff, and a stethoscope.
Step-by-step instructions
Feel for the radial pulse in the patient's wrist.
Use your index and middle finger - not your thumb, which carries its own pulse
Wrap the sphygmomanometer around the patient's bicep, with the arrow pointing at the outer artery.
Place the stethoscope head under the cuff, on top of the artery.
Pump up the cuff until the gauge reads to about 180mmHg.
Slowly release the valve and let out the air until you hear the first pulse.
This is the systolic pressure.
Continue to release the air unitl you hear a pulse again.
