Blood Pressure and Electrocardiography Assignment

Blood Pressure and Electrocardiography - Assignment Example 1. Define diastolic blood pressure. "Diastolic" came from the Greek diastole meaning "a drawing apart." The term has been in use since the 16th century to denote the period of relaxation of the heart muscle. The diastolic pressure is specifically the minimum arterial pressure during relaxation and dilatation of the ventricles of the heart when the ventricles fill with blood. In a blood pressure reading, the diastolic pressure is typically the second number recorded. For example, with a blood pressure of 120/80 ("120 over 80"), the diastolic pressure is 80. By "80" is meant 80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). (Braunwald E, 2004; Moreno MN, 2006)) 2. Given a blood pressure of 125/80, what is the mean arterial pressure? Mean Arterial Pressure = DBP + 1/3(SBP-DBP) Given: SBP = 125 DBP = 80 80 + 1/3(125-80) = 95mmHg Electrocardiography 1. When the electrode pads are placed on the subject, where is the positive electrode placed? An electrocardiogram is obtained by measuring electrical potential between various points of the body using an amplifier. A lead records the electrical signals of the heart from a particular combination of recording electrodes which are placed at specific points on the patient's body. When a depolarization wavefront (or mean electrical vector) moves toward a positive electrode, it creates a positive deflection on the ECG in the corresponding lead.