The Basics of a Vital Signs Monitor

Sept. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- A vital signs monitor is essential to help doctors monitor a patient’s body temperature, pulse, respiration rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation. Because these vital signs are automatically monitored, doctors can work on other things to help make the patient’s health better. These devices are usually used in hospitals, but they also are quite portable. So they may also be found in people’s houses, in public buildings, sports stadiums and other places.

A vital signs monitor gives you the most important information about the health of a patient. A big advantage of monitoring them with a highly accurate machine is that there is virtually no chance of error. If a person takes vital signs manually, there is a chance of human error. The use of one of these machines ensures that the measurements will be done as accurately as possible.

When a vital signs monitor measures body temperature, it is checking the efficiency with which the body releases and stores heat. It will be able to find both hyperthermic and hypothermic conditions in a patient.

The pulse rate tells you about how healthy the heart is, and also if the heart is able to pump blood throughout the body with proper efficiency. The monitor also can check for certain problems including palpitations and other pulse abnormalities.

A vital signs monitor measures blood pressure by monitoring the systolic pressure. This is when you first hear the blood flow. It is the peak blood pressure that occurs when the heart contracts for a beat. It then measures the diastolic pressure, when the flow of blood is heard no longer. This is the lowest blood pressure when the heart is resting between beats.

Blood oxygen saturation checks to see if the lungs are giving oxygen to the blood when a patient is resting, exercising or having a medical procedure performed. It also deals with the blood oxygenation and saturation of hemoglobin.

If you are considering a purchase of one of these devices, a good choice is the Criticare eQuality 506DN. This is an affordable monitor that has helpful features for spot check and continuous monitoring. It includes these features:

•   The proprietary ComfortCuff® NIBP that does a measurement on inflation, providing fast and comfortable readings.
•   Adjustable audible and visual alarms that are used in continuous monitoring.
•   Keys that are large and responsive so you can do easy fast spot checking.
•   Settings for adults, pediatrics and neonates.

For more information, visit http://www.medicaldevicedepot.com/Vital-Signs-Monitors-s/....

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