Choose a child-specific cuff according to the age of the child. The width of the cuff is 1/2 to 1/3 of the length of the upper arm. School-age children generally use a 6 cm or 7 cm wide cuff to connect to an adult desktop blood pressure monitor.
Allow the child to calm down 1 hour before measuring blood pressure, do not do vigorous exercise, do not eat food and drink, and empty the bladder.
When measuring blood pressure, take a sitting position, tie the right upper arm with the cuff, level the heart height with the right upper arm and the blood pressure gauge, and extend the arm 45 degrees. The lower edge of the cuff should be 2 cm above the elbow joint, not too tight or loose.
Put the stethoscope on the elbow artery, inflate the cuff to make the mercury column rise to the height where the arterial pulsation disappears, and then raise it by 20 to 30 mm, and then slowly deflate the mercury column at a speed of 2 mm/s.
The first sound heard is systolic blood pressure, and when the sound suddenly becomes low, it is diastolic blood pressure. In order to rule out abnormal blood pressure caused by stress factors, it is necessary to measure 3 times continuously, and the average value of the last 2 times is the child's blood pressure. Note that there should be an interval of 1 minute after each measurement, raise the upper arm for 5-6 seconds, and then do the next measurement.
To be cautious, children with high blood pressure need to be reviewed after 2 weeks. The review procedure is the same as the first time. Only 3 consecutive abnormalities can be diagnosed.
