Korotkov Sounds
diastolic pressure
Korotkoff sounds are the sounds heard through a stethoscope during the measurement of blood pressure. They are created by the turbulent flow of blood through the constricted artery when the cuff is gradually deflated. These sounds are used to determine systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.
When the blood pressure cuff is inflated, the blood flow is stopped. Slowly the cuff is decreased. When the technician starts to hear the blood flow, these are called Korotkoff Sounds. This pressure point defines the systolic pressure.
If a clot is present, the pressure in the calf veins will already be high. It does not become sharply higher when the pressure cuff is tightened. When the pressure cuff is deflated, the clot blocks the flow of blood out of the calf vein.
A sphymomanometer is used to measure blood pressure. It consists of an inflatable cuff to restrict blood flow, a pressure gauge to measure cuff pressure, and a stethoscope to listen to the blood flow sounds. By inflating the cuff and gradually releasing the pressure, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings can be obtained.
A sphygmomanometer is used to measure blood pressure. It consists of an inflatable cuff to restrict blood flow, a pressure gauge to measure the pressure in the cuff, and a stethoscope to detect the sounds of blood flowing through an artery.
CHECK YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE Korotkoff sounds are certain specific sounds heard when the arteries decompress and move the blood along them. They were invented by a Russian professor - Nikolai Korotkoff in the early 20th century during the 1st world war and remain the best ausculatory way to measure arterial blood pressure. When an artery is totally compressed, no sounds can be heard at all as no blood is moving. As the artery is slowly decompressed, certain sounds are heard which indicate a way of judging the level of pressure in the artery. In order to slowly decompress the artery we need to use an inflatable sphygmomanometer cuff and a stethoscope. The cuff is pumped up until no sound can be heard. Then the cuff is slowly deflated and the sounds occur: They occur in four stages : silence-tapping-thumping-muffled-silence again when the cuff is fully deflated and the artery is completely unobstructed. When the first sound is heard - the tapping, the reading on the sphygmomanometer is taken to be systolic pressure. The moment all the sounds disappear and you are left with silence again, the reading on the sphygmomanometer is taken as diastolic pressure. This is the way by which your blood pressure will always be taken at your local GP or health clinic. The standard BP is 120/80 which is systolic/diastolic. However it is likely that people will have blood pressure values of near that value and still be perfectly healthy.
Korotkoff sounds are the sounds heard when measuring blood pressure using a sphygmomanometer. They are produced by the turbulence of blood flow in the brachial artery when the cuff pressure is gradually decreased below the systolic pressure. These sounds correspond to the systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.
Use a blood pressure cuff (sphygonometer, or something). The reading will be something like 120/90 where the higher number is the pressure of the heartbeat (systolic) and the lower number is the pressure between beats (diastolic).
The pressure in the cuff drops further, the sounds change in quality, then become muted, then disappear altogether. As the pressure in the cuff drops below the diastolic blood pressure, the cuff no longer provides any restriction to blood flow allowing the blood flow to become smooth again with no turbulence and thus produce no further audible sound.
The sounds of Korotkoff are heard when taking blood pressure measurements using a sphygmomanometer. The first sound is heard when measuring systolic pressure as the cuff pressure falls below the pressure in the brachial artery, and the last sound is heard when measuring diastolic pressure as the cuff pressure continues to decrease.
The medical term for a blood pressure cuff is a sphygmomanometer.