The Effect of Body Positions on Blood Pressure
Kirtanaa Muthukrishnan and Regina Cheung
Principles of Biomedical Sciences
April 19, 2017
Kirtanaa Muthukrishnan and Regina Cheung
Principles of Biomedical Sciences
April 19, 2017
The objective of this project was to work with a partner to measure blood pressure, explore factors that might influence this value, and learn what blood pressure readings indicate about the health of a person.
Standing vs. Sitting position will cause a higher blood pressure
Lying down vs. Sitting position will cause a lower blood pressure
After measuring the blood pressure of person A and person B in three different positions, the results showed that the blood pressure readings ended to increase in the standing position compared to the sitting and lying down positions. Using the tables and graphs below, mean of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure numbers of both readings was calculated. Person A’s standing mean was 94.5 mm Hg, their sitting mean was 76 mm Hg, and their lying down mean was 78 mm Hg. Person B’s standing mean was 84 mm Hg, their sitting mean was 78 mm Hg, and their lying down mean was 77 mm Hg. When taking the blood pressure in a standing position, the arm rested on the table was below the heart compared to the location of the arm in a sitting position. When taking the blood pressure in lying down position, the arm was around a similar elevation relative to the heart compared to the arm in the sitting down position. Furthermore, blood pressure was always taken using the right arm.
P < 0.05, Significant
The blood pressure when taken in a standing position was significantly higher compared to blood pressure taken in a sitting position (P < 0.05).
The blood pressure taken in a lying down position was significantly lower compared to blood pressure taken in a sitting position (P < 0.05).