lab 2: vital signs Flashcards
(39 cards)
what do vital signs do?
information about current and changing physiological status. body’s core ability to stay alive:
- pumping blood through the heart
- breathing
- maintaining a core temperature
four vital signs internationally recognized
- respiratory
- pulse or heart rate (HR)
- blood pressure (BP)
- temperature
three other vital measures
- pulse oximetry
- pain rating scale
- rate of perceived exertion (RPE)
what are vital signs are used to establish
- baseline physiological information to guide exercise program development
- physiological response to activity to guide continuation, modification, or discontinuation of a program
- patients immediate health risk
- emergency cardiac or resporatory interventions
how can vital signs be affected
age, physical activity, emotional status, physiological status, clinician accuracy, equipment accuracy, environmental temperature
heart rate
indirect measure of rate and rhythm of left ventricle contraction
3 observable measures in HR
- rate
- rhythm,
- intensity
heart rate rate measure
the number of times the heart contracts in a given period of time (recorded at beats per minute -bpm)
heart rate rhythm measure
regular: heart beats at a fixed interval
regular-irregular: heart rate that occasionally skips a beat
irregular-irregular: highly disorganized heart beat
heart rate intensity measure
0: absent
1: weaker than expected or thready; may be difficult to palpate
2: normal; able to palpate with normal pressure
3: bounding; may be able to see pulsation; doesn’t disappear with palpation
factors affecting HR
age (as age increases, HR decreases), sex (male lower than female), fever, pain, stress, digestion, meds, hypovolemia (loss of blood), hypoxia and hypoxemia (O2 decrease, increased HR), BP, electrolyte balance
respiratory rate (RR)
normal rate is 12-20 breaths per minute for adults
RR documentations (3 ways)
- rate
- pattern
- mechanics
RR rate docmentation
number of breaths per minute
RR pattern documentation
- eupnea (normal pattern)
- tachypnea (increased rate, >24bpm)
- bradypnea (slowo rate, <10bpm)
- hyperventilation
- hypoventilation
- cheyne-strokes (deep to shallow w/ apneic periods)
- kussmaul’s breathing (deep, regular and increased)
- apnea (absence for several seconds)
- biots breathing (shallow w/ periods of apnea)
RR mechanics documentation
- percentage of diapjragmatic vs lateral costal vs aprical (normal = D:70%, LC: 30%, A: trace)
- use of accessor muscles (sing of increased work of breathing)
- any signs of distress
- inspiratory to expiratory ratio (1:2 or 1:3)
factors affecting RR and depth
age (decreases RR), exercise, illness processes, meds, pain, emotions
oxygen saturation
percent saturation of arterial O2 is estimate of how much O2 is travelling through body in RBC’s. range is 95-100%
how to measure O2 saturation
indirect measure with pulse Ox placed on index finger, uses light beams to estimate O2 sat
- an absolute decrease is SpO2 of 5% or more during exercise is considered an abnormal response (exercise induced hypoxemia - needs follow up tests)
- less than 80% with signs of hypoxemia is indication to stop exercise
factors affecting SpO2
lung disease, decreased circulation, hypotension
with pulse ox:
- lower perfusion, hemoglobin abnormalities, dark skin tone, nail polish/ acrylic nails, movement during exercise
rate of perceived exertion (RPE)
subjectively monitor a clients ability to tolerate exercise using borg scale (6-20)
blood pressure
variable that reflects cardiac output, peripheral vascular resistance and haemodynamic factors. an indirect measure of pressure inside an artery
- recorded as mmHG
- use Korotkoff sounds
systolic pressure
indicated by the first faint clear tapping sounds heard upon graduallt releasing the air in the cuff (phase 1). this is the pressure at the time of contraction of the left ventricle
diastolic pressure
indicated by the disappearance of all sounds (phase 5). this is the pressure at the time of ventricular filing (‘resting’ pressure)
