Vital Signs (Body Temperature, Pulse Rate, Respiration ...

What are vital signs? · Body temperature · Pulse rate · Respiration rate (rate of breathing) · Blood pressure (Blood pressure is not considered a vital sign, but is ... SkipNavigation COVID-19Updates Masksarerequiredinsideallofourcarefacilities.Wearevaccinatingalleligiblepatients.Learnmore: Vaccines,Boosters&AdditionalDoses|Testing|PatientCare|VisitorGuidelines|Coronavirus|EmailAlerts FindmoreCOVID-19testinglocationsonMaryland.gov. HealthHome ConditionsandDiseases VitalSigns(BodyTemperature,PulseRate,RespirationRate,BloodPressure) ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedin ShareonPinterest ShareviaEmail PrintthisPage PreparingforanEmergency EverydaySafety HeartandVascular HighBloodPressure/Hypertension Whatarevitalsigns? Vitalsignsaremeasurementsofthebody'smostbasicfunctions.Thefourmainvitalsignsroutinelymonitoredbymedicalprofessionalsandhealthcareprovidersincludethefollowing: Bodytemperature Pulserate Respirationrate(rateofbreathing) Bloodpressure(Bloodpressureisnotconsideredavitalsign,butisoftenmeasuredalongwiththevitalsigns.) Vitalsignsareusefulindetectingormonitoringmedicalproblems.Vitalsignscanbemeasuredinamedicalsetting,athome,atthesiteofamedicalemergency,orelsewhere. Whatisbodytemperature? Thenormalbodytemperatureofapersonvariesdependingongender,recentactivity,foodandfluidconsumption,timeofday,and,inwomen,thestageofthemenstrualcycle.Normalbodytemperaturecanrangefrom97.8 degrees F(orFahrenheit,equivalentto36.5degrees C,orCelsius)to99degrees F(37.2degrees C)forahealthyadult.Aperson'sbodytemperaturecanbetakeninanyofthefollowingways: Orally.Temperaturecanbetakenbymouthusingeithertheclassicglassthermometer,orthemoremoderndigitalthermometersthatuseanelectronicprobetomeasurebodytemperature. Rectally.Temperaturestakenrectally(usinga glassordigitalthermometer)tendtobe0.5to0.7degrees Fhigherthanwhentakenbymouth. Axillary.Temperaturescanbetakenunderthearmusinga glassordigitalthermometer.Temperaturestakenbythisroutetendtobe0.3to0.4degreesFlowerthanthosetemperaturestakenbymouth. Byear.Aspecialthermometercanquicklymeasurethetemperatureoftheeardrum,whichreflectsthebody'scoretemperature(thetemperatureoftheinternalorgans). Byskin.Aspecialthermometercanquicklymeasurethetemperatureoftheskinontheforehead. Bodytemperaturemaybeabnormalduetofever(hightemperature)orhypothermia(lowtemperature).Afeverisindicatedwhenbodytemperaturerisesaboutonedegreeormoreoverthenormaltemperatureof98.6degreesFahrenheit,accordingtotheAmericanAcademyofFamilyPhysicians.Hypothermiaisdefinedasadropinbodytemperaturebelow95degreesFahrenheit. Aboutglassthermometerscontainingmercury AccordingtotheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,mercuryisatoxicsubstancethatposesathreattothehealthofhumans,aswellastotheenvironment.Becauseoftheriskofbreaking,glassthermometerscontainingmercuryshouldberemovedfromuseanddisposedofproperlyinaccordancewithlocal,state,andfederallaws.Contactyourlocalhealthdepartment,wastedisposalauthority,orfiredepartmentforinformationonhowtoproperlydisposeofmercurythermometers. Whatisthepulserate? Thepulserateisameasurementoftheheartrate,orthenumberoftimestheheartbeatsperminute.Astheheartpushesbloodthroughthearteries,thearteriesexpandandcontractwiththeflowoftheblood.Takingapulsenotonlymeasurestheheartrate,butalsocanindicatethefollowing: Heartrhythm Strengthofthepulse Thenormalpulseforhealthyadultsrangesfrom60to100beatsperminute.Thepulseratemayfluctuateandincreasewithexercise,illness,injury,andemotions.Femalesages12andolder,ingeneral,tendtohavefasterheartratesthandomales.Athletes,suchasrunners,whodoalotofcardiovascularconditioning,mayhaveheartratesnear40beatsperminuteandexperiencenoproblems. Howtocheckyourpulse Astheheartforcesbloodthroughthearteries,youfeelthebeatsbyfirmlypressingonthearteries,whicharelocatedclosetothesurfaceoftheskinatcertainpointsofthebody.Thepulsecanbefoundonthesideoftheneck,ontheinsideoftheelbow,oratthewrist.Formostpeople,itiseasiesttotakethepulseatthewrist. Ifyouusethelowerneck,besurenottopresstoohard,andneverpressonthepulsesonbothsidesofthelowerneckatthesametimetopreventblockingbloodflowtothebrain.Whentakingyourpulse: Usingthefirstandsecondfingertips,pressfirmlybutgentlyonthearteriesuntilyoufeelapulse. Begincountingthepulsewhentheclock'ssecondhandisonthe12. Countyourpulsefor60seconds(orfor15secondsandthenmultiplybyfourtocalculatebeatsperminute). Whencounting,donotwatchtheclockcontinuously,butconcentrateonthebeatsofthepulse. Ifunsureaboutyourresults,askanotherpersontocountforyou. Ifyour doctorhasorderedyoutocheckyourownpulseandyouarehavingdifficultyfindingit,consultyour doctorornurseforadditionalinstruction. Whatistherespirationrate? Therespirationrateisthenumberofbreathsapersontakesperminute.Therateisusuallymeasuredwhenapersonisatrestandsimplyinvolvescountingthenumberofbreathsforoneminutebycountinghowmanytimesthechestrises.Respirationratesmayincreasewithfever,illness,andothermedicalconditions.Whencheckingrespiration,itisimportanttoalsonotewhetherapersonhasanydifficultybreathing. Normalrespirationratesforanadultpersonatrestrangefrom12to 16breathsperminute. Whatisbloodpressure? Bloodpressureistheforceofthebloodpushingagainstthearterywallsduringcontractionandrelaxationoftheheart.Eachtimetheheartbeats,itpumpsbloodintothearteries,resultinginthehighestbloodpressureastheheartcontracts.Whentheheartrelaxes,thebloodpressurefalls. Twonumbersarerecordedwhenmeasuringbloodpressure.Thehighernumber,orsystolicpressure,referstothepressureinsidethearterywhentheheartcontractsandpumpsbloodthroughthebody.Thelowernumber,ordiastolicpressure,referstothepressureinsidethearterywhentheheartisatrestandisfillingwithblood.Boththesystolicanddiastolicpressuresarerecordedas"mmHg"(millimetersofmercury).Thisrecordingrepresentshowhighthemercurycolumninanold-fashionedmanualbloodpressuredevice(calledamercurymanometerorsphygmomanometer)israisedbythepressureoftheblood.Today,yourdoctor'sofficeismorelikelytouseasimpledialforthismeasurement. Highbloodpressure,orhypertension,directlyincreasestheriskofheartattack,heartfailure,andstroke.Withhighbloodpressure,thearteriesmayhaveanincreasedresistanceagainsttheflowofblood,causingthehearttopumphardertocirculatetheblood. Bloodpressureiscategorizedasnormal,elevated,orstage1orstage2highbloodpressure: Normalbloodpressureissystolicoflessthan120anddiastolicoflessthan80(120/80) Elevatedbloodpressureissystolicof120to129anddiastoliclessthan80 Stage1highbloodpressureissystolicis130to139ordiastolicbetween80to89 Stage2highbloodpressureiswhensystolicis140orhigherorthediastolicis90orhigher Thesenumbersshouldbeusedasaguideonly.Asinglebloodpressuremeasurementthatishigherthannormalisnotnecessarilyanindicationofaproblem.Yourdoctorwillwanttoseemultiplebloodpressuremeasurementsoverseveraldaysorweeksbeforemakingadiagnosisofhighbloodpressureandstartingtreatment.Askyourproviderwhentocontacthimorherifyourbloodpressurereadingsarenotwithinthenormalrange. WhyshouldImonitormybloodpressureathome? Forpeoplewithhypertension,homemonitoringallowsyour doctortomonitorhowmuchyourbloodpressurechangesduringtheday,andfromdaytoday.Thismayalsohelpyour doctordeterminehoweffectivelyyourbloodpressuremedicationisworking. Whatspecialequipmentisneededtomeasurebloodpressure? Eitherananeroidmonitor,whichhasadialgaugeandisreadbylookingatapointer,oradigitalmonitor,inwhichthebloodpressurereadingflashesonasmallscreen,canbeusedtomeasurebloodpressure. Abouttheaneroidmonitor Theaneroidmonitorislessexpensivethanthedigitalmonitor.Thecuffisinflatedbyhandbysqueezingarubberbulb.Someunitsevenhaveaspecialfeaturetomakeiteasiertoputthecuffonwithonehand.However,theunitcanbeeasilydamagedandbecomelessaccurate.Becausethepersonusingitmustlistenforheartbeatswiththestethoscope,itmaynotbeappropriateforthehearing-impaired. Aboutthedigitalmonitor Thedigitalmonitorisautomatic,withthemeasurementsappearingonasmallscreen.Becausetherecordingsareeasytoread,thisisthemostpopularbloodpressuremeasuringdevice.Itisalsoeasiertousethantheaneroidunit,andsincethereisnoneedtolistentoheartbeatsthroughthestethoscope,thisisagooddeviceforhearing-impairedpatients.Onedisadvantageisthatbodymovementoranirregularheartratecanchangetheaccuracy.Theseunitsarealsomoreexpensivethantheaneroidmonitors. Aboutfinger andwristbloodpressuremonitors Testshaveshownthatfingerand/orwristbloodpressuredevicesarenotasaccurateinmeasuringbloodpressureasothertypesofmonitors.Inaddition,theyaremoreexpensivethanothermonitors. Beforeyoumeasureyourbloodpressure: TheAmericanHeartAssociationrecommendsthefollowingguidelinesforhomebloodpressuremonitoring: Don'tsmokeordrinkcoffeefor30minutesbeforetakingyourbloodpressure. Gotothebathroombeforethetest. Relaxfor5minutesbeforetakingthemeasurement. Sitwithyourbacksupported(don'tsitonacouchorsoftchair).Keepyourfeetontheflooruncrossed.Placeyourarmonasolidflatsurface(likeatable)withtheupperpartofthearmatheartlevel.Placethemiddleofthecuffdirectlyabovethebendoftheelbow.Checkthemonitor'sinstructionmanualforanillustration. Takemultiplereadings.Whenyoumeasure,take2to3readingsoneminuteapartandrecordalltheresults. Takeyourbloodpressureatthesametimeeveryday,orasyourhealthcareproviderrecommends. Recordthedate,time,andbloodpressurereading. Taketherecordwithyoutoyournextmedicalappointment.Ifyourbloodpressuremonitorhasabuilt-inmemory,simplytakethemonitorwithyoutoyournextappointment. Callyourproviderifyouhaveseveralhighreadings.Don'tbefrightenedbyasinglehighbloodpressurereading,butifyougetseveralhighreadings,checkinwithyourhealthcareprovider. Whenbloodpressurereachesasystolic(topnumber)of180orhigherORdiastolic(bottomnumber)of110orhigher,seekemergencymedicaltreatment. Askyourdoctororanotherhealthcareprofessionaltoteachyouhowtouseyourbloodpressuremonitorcorrectly.Havethemonitorroutinelycheckedforaccuracybytakingitwithyoutoyourdoctor'soffice.Itisalsoimportanttomakesurethetubingisnottwistedwhenyoustoreitandkeepitawayfromheattopreventcracksandleaks. Properuseofyourbloodpressuremonitorwillhelpyouandyourdoctorinmonitoringyourbloodpressure. FindaDoctor SpecializingIn: DyslipidemiaandHypertension HighBloodPressure(Hypertension) AtAnotherJohnsHopkinsMemberHospital: HowardCountyGeneralHospital SibleyMemorialHospital SuburbanHospital FindaTreatmentCenter HypertensionCenter CenterforResistantHypertension FindAdditionalTreatmentCentersat: HowardCountyGeneralHospital SibleyMemorialHospital SuburbanHospital Related IcePacksvs.WarmCompressesForPain BloodPressureandAlzheimer'sRisk:What'stheConnection? PulmonaryEmbolism TheMetabolicSyndrome RequestanAppointment FindaDoctor 410-955-5000 Maryland 855-695-4872 OutsideofMaryland +1-410-502-7683 International FindaDoctor SeeMore Related FirstAidandSafety IcePacksvs.WarmCompressesForPain Alzheimer'sdisease BloodPressureandAlzheimer'sRisk:What'stheConnection? HeartandVascular PulmonaryEmbolism RelatedTopics PreparingforanEmergency EverydaySafety HeartandVascular HighBloodPressure/Hypertension