Why do you use the brachial artery to measure blood pressure?

The brachial artery’s pulse can be felt on the elbow’s front side. This is why blood pressure is measured in this area.

Which vessel gives the most accurate reading of blood pressure?

Central blood pressure measurement tests the pressure in the heart’s large artery. This measurement may be a more accurate indicator of risks of stroke, heart failure, vascular disease and other conditions.

What is brachial artery?

The brachial artery is the extension of the axillary artery starting at the lower margin of the teres major muscle and is the major artery of the upper extremity. The brachial artery courses along the ventral surface of the arm and gives rise to multiple smaller branching arteries before reaching the cubital fossa.

What happens to the brachial artery when taking blood pressure?

As soon as the air pressure in the cuff falls below the systolic blood pressure in the brachial artery, blood will start to flow through the arm once again. This creates a pounding sound when the arteries close again and the walls of the vessels hit each other after a heart beat.

What is the normal blood pressure of the brachial artery?

When blood pressure is measured using a sphygmomanometer, the upper value is the systolic pressure and the lower value is the diastolic pressure. Normal systolic pressure is <120 mmHg, and normal diastolic pressure is <80 mmHg.

Can you feel the brachial artery?

The brachial artery is deep in the muscle, so it can take some gentle pressure to feel. If you still can’t find the pulse, move your fingers around in the cubital fossa until you feel a thump. The pressure should be gentle and light.

Where is blood pressure brachial artery?

elbow
Simply, the pressure is measured on the brachial artery, which is palpable on the front (anterior) of the elbow, in the middle of the tendon of the biceps, typically using a blood pressure cuff.

Why is the brachial artery used to measure blood pressure?

Because the brachial artery is just below skin level—especially around the elbow—doctors use it to measure blood pressure. This explains why the inflatable cuff of the standard blood pressure gauge is placed on the elbow. Surgeons may also need to apply compression of the brachial artery to control blood loss in trauma patients.

How is a blood pressure cuff placed to measure blood pressure?

To measure blood pressure, the cuff is placed around the unclothed and extended upper arm and then inflated until no blood can flow through the brachial artery. For this to happen, the pressure in the cuff must be greater than the blood pressure in the brachial artery.

What does the ankle-brachial index measure?

The ankle-brachial index measures blood pressure in the ankle as well as the brachial artery to test for peripheral artery disease (PAD) in a non-invasive manner. PAD is when one or more arteries that supply blood to the limbs become blocked, most often due to atherosclerosis, or the build-up of plaque in vessels.

How does a plethysmograph measure blood pressure?

The output of the plethysmograph is used to drive a servo-loop, which rapidly changes the cuff pressure to keep the output constant, so that the artery is held in a partially opened state. The oscillations of pressure in the cuff are measured and have been found to resemble the intra-arterial pressure wave in most subjects (Fig. 2).