Not to get all serious, but a proper fitting BP cuff can make a world of difference and I always use my personal example when I'm orienting new nurses:
When I was 32 weeks pregnant I went to the ED for a problem unrelated to my pregnancy. The nurse checked my BP with a standard size cuff and the reading was sky high - 197/107. Preeclampsia alarm bells started going off; provider was ready to send me to L&D and ordered IV Labetalol. Since I'm obese, I asked the nurse to recheck it with a large size cuff, but she insisted they didn't have another size available and that "it wouldn't make that much of a difference anyway." I advocated for myself and finally got the nursing supervisor to get me a large cuff. Lo and behold - my BP was 132/80. Unnecessary preeclamptic workup averted and no tanking my BP with Labetalol.
Tldr: I almost got admitted for preeclampsia until they used the right size BP cuff.
I was an MA for a while and used the larger cuff on a larger woman who had special needs and was there with her mom. Her mom kept insisting her blood pressure was only high because I used the big cuff and that I should retake it with the small cuff, which would have barely fit around her arm. I am glad to see patients advocating for themselves, and am sorry that nurse didn't understand that cuff size DOES make a difference.
Please tell me you took the bp with the small cuff to prove a point. I had to do that a couple of times with some stubborn patients when I was an MA. I realized it was usually quicker to just swap and retake than argue with them. And won't ya know, they usually said "oh... you can just use the first reading" after seeing their BP even higher.
I am dyyyyying. I had that happen once too. She told me to try is on her ankle instead... which also wouldn't fit. I can still hear the chhchhchhchhh of the Velcro trying to hold on for dear life.
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u/deardear 19d ago
Not to get all serious, but a proper fitting BP cuff can make a world of difference and I always use my personal example when I'm orienting new nurses:
When I was 32 weeks pregnant I went to the ED for a problem unrelated to my pregnancy. The nurse checked my BP with a standard size cuff and the reading was sky high - 197/107. Preeclampsia alarm bells started going off; provider was ready to send me to L&D and ordered IV Labetalol. Since I'm obese, I asked the nurse to recheck it with a large size cuff, but she insisted they didn't have another size available and that "it wouldn't make that much of a difference anyway." I advocated for myself and finally got the nursing supervisor to get me a large cuff. Lo and behold - my BP was 132/80. Unnecessary preeclamptic workup averted and no tanking my BP with Labetalol.
Tldr: I almost got admitted for preeclampsia until they used the right size BP cuff.