How is a sphygmomanometer able to determine blood pressure?

1 Answer
Jun 1, 2016

By constrcting the blood vessels temporarily, the sphygmomanometer will be able to determine a person's blood pressure.

Explanation:

There are two components in blood pressure. One is the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure. Once the sphygmomanometer constricts the blood vessel, the systolic pressure is the first sound "dub" sound that would be heard by the person taking the BP using a stethoscope. Systolic pressure is the pressure exerted by the heart specifically by the left ventricle to pump blood in your arteries going to your body parts. Diastolic pressure is the resting pressure of the heart or the last "dub" sound that the caregiver/nurse would hear.

But now, many sphygmomanometers are actually automatic now and is found to be more accurate than that of the human caregivers/ medical staff hearing which why many 1st world countries hospitals are using it.