It is important to be able to take vital signs on a person in an emergency situation. This information can be valuable to healthcare providers so they can look for a trend in the vital signs. For example, if a person’s blood pressure starts to drop rapidly, that patient could be going into shock.
This guide is not intended to show you how to evaluate the vital signs, only how to take them. Here is a list of vital signs you may need to take on a person.
- Mental Status
- Blood Pressure
- Heart Rate
- Respiratory Rate
- SPO2/Pulse Ox.
- Blood Glucose Level (BGL)
Mental Status
Mental Status may not be considered a “vital sign”, but it is very important to analyze a persons mental status. Whenever I call in a report to a hospital, I always give them the person’s mental status along with the other vital signs. You can see my post about assessing Altered Mental Status Here.
If someone has an altered mental status, you want to try to find out what their baseline (usual) mental status and orientation level is (i.e. someone with Dementia may not usually be alert and oriented x 4). If someone’s orientation level is below their baseline, it is possible they are having an emergency.
Blood Pressure
High blood pressure (hypertension), and Low Blood Pressure (Hypotension) may indicate an emergency. There are a number of reasons for each, and it is not uncommon to get a false reading due to either the equipment used while obtaining a blood pressure (example: cuff that is not the right size), or error by the person obtaining the blood pressure.
Some automated cuffs are not consistent with their readings. (See my page on Medical Supplies) Make sure you have a cuff that is the right size for the person, a stethoscope to listen for the pressure, and know how to take a blood pressure properly. Here is a video from youtube on how to take a blood pressure (these videos are not made by me)
Heart Rate
Taking a heart rate is usually simple, but sometimes it is not. You want obtain a persons heart rate/minute. You can take their pulse rate for 15 seconds and multiple it by 4 to get their heart rate. Also, try to feel if the pulse feels strong or weak and if it is a regular or irregular beat (are the beats the same time apart).
If a person has a low blood pressure, you may not be able to feel a pulse at certain pulse points. You may be able to listen to a person’s heartbeat with a stethoscope if you are finding it difficult to palpate a pulse (example: it may be able to feel a pulse on an infant). Here is a good video I found on youtube showing how to take a heart rate.
Respiratory Rate
To take a respiratory rate, you need to count how many time’s a person breaths in 1 minute. I usually watch them breath for 15 seconds (watch for their chest or abdomen to rise), and multiply that number by 4 to get their rate. I also look to see if they are breathing normally, deep breathing, or shallow breathing.
SPO2/Pulse Ox.
I get an SP02 level with a Pulse Oximeter on most of my patients that I bring to the hospital, especially if they are having difficulty breathing. Usually you can just place a pulse ox. over one of the patient’s fingers and get a reading (SP02 percentange, and heart rate), but SP02 monitors are not always accurate.
Blood Glucose Level (BGL)
I take a Blood Glucose Level on anyone who I suspect may be hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemic (high blood sugar). This includes anyone with an Altered Mental Status. Here’s a video from youtube on how to check a BGL.