Medical Assistant Prep / Unit 4 MAS 079 short lesson, about 20 seconds
What Pulse and Blood Pressure Measure
Captions available
The idea
The pulse is the rhythmic expansion of an artery each time a ventricle ejects blood, and blood pressure is the force of blood against the artery walls.
In practice
Systolic pressure comes from ventricular contraction, diastolic pressure from relaxation; a reading is written systolic over diastolic.
Where people slip
Blood pressure varies through the day, so one reading tells less than a pattern.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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