Vital signs and measurements

• The normal blood pressure is 120/80
• The normal temperature for adults is 37.0-37.9 degrees Celsius or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit
• The normal pulse rate is 60-100 BPM
• The normal respiration rate in adults is 12-20 breaths per minute
• The pulse oximetry measures oxygen saturation levels in a person's blood. The normal saturation is between 95%-100%
• Afebrile is having a body temperature withing one's normal range
• Apnea is the absence of breathing
• Bradycardia is having a slow heart rate (below 60 BPM)
• Tachycardia is having a fast heart rate (above 100 BPM)
• Dyspnea is difficulty breathing
• Febrile is pertaining to or suffering from a fever
• Hyperpnea is deeper and more rapid breathing than normal
• Hyperpyrexia is having an extremely high fever
• Hypertension is high blood pressure (anything over 120/80)
• Hyperventilation is the condition of breathing rapidly and deeply; decreases the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood
• Hypertension is low blood pressure
• Hypoxemia is subnormal oxygenation of arterial blood
• Orthostatic hypotension is a situation where blood pressure becomes low and the pulse increases when a patient is moved from a lying to a standing position; also known as postural hypotension
• The positive tilt test is when the pulse rate increases more than 10 bpm and the blood pressure drops more than 20 points while taking vital signs in the lying, sitting, and standing positions
• Rales are noisy respirations usually due to blockage of the bronchial tubes
• Rhonchi are deep snoring or rattling sounds during breathing; associated with asthma, acute bronchitis, or any condition involving partial obstruction of the lung's airway
• Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep
• Sphygmomanometer is the instrument for measuring blood pressure
• A stethoscope is an instrument for listening to cardiac and respiratory sounds
• Tachypnea is rapid breathing
• The different ways you can take someone's temperature are oral, temporal, axial, rectal, axillary, and tympanic (ear)
• When taking an oral temperature, the patient must be able to breathe through his/her nose. Wait at least 15 minutes before taking an oral temperature after a patient has been eating/smoking
• Pull the ear up and back to take tympanic temperatures for adults
• Pull the ear down and back to take tympanic temperatures for the children
• The different pulse sites are temporal, carotid, brachial, radial, femoral, popliteal, posterior tibial, or dorsalis pedis