When a nurse obtains an unusually low blood pressure measurement for a client whose blood pressure is generally elevated, she considers the possibility of a problem with her technique. Which of the following sources of error should she consider as a possible cause of the low reading?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A.
Wrapping the cuff too loosely around the client’s arm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
B.
Measuring blood pressure right after the client’s mealtime<\/p>\n\n\n\n
C.
Positioning the client’s arm above heart level<\/p>\n\n\n\n
D.
Deflating the cuff too slowly<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The correct answer and Explanation is :<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n The source of error that the nurse should consider as a possible cause of the unusually low blood pressure reading is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n C. Positioning the client’s arm above heart level<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Positioning the Arm Above Heart Level:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When measuring blood pressure, it is crucial that the client’s arm is positioned at heart level. If the arm is positioned above heart level, the measurement can be inaccurately low. This is because the hydrostatic pressure in the blood vessels can cause a discrepancy between the true arterial pressure and the reading obtained. Essentially, if the arm is elevated, gravity reduces the blood pressure reading due to the lower hydrostatic pressure exerted on the arterial walls. Accurate blood pressure measurements require the arm to be at the same level as the heart to ensure that the reading reflects the true arterial pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other Considerations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In summary, the most likely source of error leading to an unusually low blood pressure reading is positioning the client\u2019s arm above heart level. Ensuring that the arm is at heart level helps to obtain an accurate measurement that reflects the client’s true blood pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When a nurse obtains an unusually low blood pressure measurement for a client whose blood pressure is generally elevated, she considers the possibility of a problem with her technique. Which of the following sources of error should she consider as a possible cause of the low reading? A.Wrapping the cuff too loosely around the client’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Explanation:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Wrapping the cuff too loosely can lead to an inaccurate measurement, but typically, it would result in a falsely high reading rather than a low one. This happens because the cuff might not apply adequate pressure to occlude the artery properly, causing the blood pressure to be recorded as higher than it actually is.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Measuring blood pressure immediately after a meal can cause a temporary rise in blood pressure due to the body’s digestion processes. This effect, however, usually results in a higher reading, not a lower one.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
If the cuff is deflated too slowly, it can result in a falsely high diastolic reading because the blood pressure may not be accurately captured at the point where the flow of blood returns. The effect on systolic pressure is less pronounced, so this is less likely to cause a low reading overall.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n