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Nursing vocabulary · Vital Signs

Blood pressure

Meaning in nursing, with examples

/ˈblʌd ˌprɛʃər/nounCore term

In nursing, blood pressure means: The force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries, written as two numbers such as 120/80 and measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).

In Turkish: tansiyon, kan basıncı

How it is used

One of the most common words on any ward. You take, check or record a blood pressure; it can be high, low, raised or dropping. The top number is the systolic and the bottom one the diastolic. Nurses read 120/80 aloud as 'one twenty over eighty' and often shorten the word to BP.

Example sentences

  1. His blood pressure is 90 over 50, so I've called the doctor.

  2. I'm just going to take your blood pressure. You'll feel the cuff squeeze your arm.

Common collocations

  • take someone's blood pressure
  • high blood pressure
  • low blood pressure
  • blood pressure cuff
  • drop in blood pressure
  • vital signsThe basic body measurements that show how well a patient's body is working: usually temperature, pulse, breathing rate, blood pressure and oxygen level.
  • hypotensionBlood pressure that is lower than normal. In adults it is often defined as below about 90/60 mmHg, but the change from the patient's usual reading also matters.
  • pulseThe beat of the heart that can be felt where an artery is close to the skin, such as at the wrist, counted as beats per minute.
  • observationsIn nursing, the regular set of measurements taken from a patient, mainly the vital signs, and sometimes other checks such as pain or level of consciousness.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Vital Signs

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.