Manual Blood Pressure Guide for Adults

Hi, here are instructions on how to manually take an adult's blood pressure. I created this to help others understand how to properly measure blood pressure outside of a medical facility.

Adult blood pressure cuff with attached pump and sphygmomanometer

Stethoscope

Find an appropriate arm free of bruises and scars. Locate the brachial pulse, found in the crease of your elbow facing inward. Ensure the patient is sitting with their arm at the level of the heart and palm up.

Place the cuff 1 inch above the fold of the elbow and line up the arrow with where you felt the brachial pulse. Make sure that clothing is not touching.

Feel for the brachial pulse and begin inflating the cuff. Stop when you feel a pulse. The pressure at which you feel the pulse is your estimated systolic pressure.

Place the bell or diaphragm of the stethoscope where you felt the brachial pulse. Please do not hold it with your thumb (it has a pulse) or place the bell under the cuff.

Go 30 mmHg ABOVE the estimated systolic. For example, if your estimate was 100 mmHg, go up to 130 mmHg.

Begin to release. The FIRST sound you hear is your systolic. The LAST sound you hear is your diastolic. You will hear many sounds but focus on the first and last!