title: Auscultatory blood pressure measurement--effect of pressure on the head of the stethoscope.
abstract: Excessive pressure on the stethoscope head in auscultatory blood pressure measurement does not affect systolic blood pressure value but it does erroneously lower diastolic readings and frequently causes the sounds to persist to zero. Consequently, the lightest possible pressure should be placed on the stethoscope head.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001314:Auscultation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011312:Pressure