How is blood pressure measured?

Blood pressure is most commonly measured using a sphygmomanometer, which includes an inflatable cuff and a manometer to record pressure in millimeters of mercury. Measurements capture both systolic pressure during heart contraction and diastolic pressure during relaxation. While non-invasive cuff measurements are standard in routine care, invasive measurements using an arterial catheter are occasionally performed in hospital settings.

What we know

• Arterial blood pressure is most commonly measured using a sphygmomanometer. [2]
• Blood pressure values are generally reported in millimeters of mercury. [2, 4]
• A sphygmomanometer consists of an inflatable cuff, a measuring unit like a mercury or aneroid manometer, and an inflation mechanism. [5]
• Invasive pressure measurement by penetrating the arterial wall is much less common and typically restricted to hospitals. [2]

Where to go next

• how it workedWhat is a sphygmomanometer?
• how we knowWhat do systolic and diastolic readings mean?
• what followedHow does blood pressure relate to overall health?
• the bigger pictureHow is general fluid pressure measured?
• compared withWhat is hypertension?
• an unexpected connectionHow do industrial pressure gauges relate to medical blood monitors?Both medical sphygmomanometers and industrial pressure gauges rely on fundamental mechanical principles of force per unit area exerted by a fluid.

Sources

• [1]blood pressure measurement (Wikidata Q4994431) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Blood pressure measurement · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Pressure measurement · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Blood pressure · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Sphygmomanometer · CC BY-SA 4.0