Claire Dawson
Hospital monitors are essential devices used by healthcare professionals to evaluate and monitor a patient's overall health. They can be intimidating to look at, with their many multi-coloured numbers, lines, and sounds. However, they provide doctors with a convenient way to read vital signs and make informed decisions. They also allow nurses to consistently monitor patients and quickly pass on any concerning changes to doctors. The numbers on a hospital monitor typically represent vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation levels, body temperature, and respiratory rate.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Heart rate | Typically in the top right corner, in bold, colourful numbers, with "HR" or "PR" (pulse rate) next to or above it. A healthy adult's heart rate is between 60 and 100 BPM. |
| Blood pressure | Displayed under "SYST" or "SYS" for systolic and "DIAS" or "DIA" for diastolic. Systolic pressure should be between 100 and 130, and diastolic pressure should be between 60 and 80. |
| Oxygen saturation | Located under "SpO2", measures the amount of oxygen in the blood on a scale up to 100. A healthy oxygen saturation level is between 95 and 100. |
| Body temperature | Typically the second number on a patient monitor, under the pulse rate. Normal body temperature is between 97.8 and 99 °F (36.6 to 37.2 °C). |
| Respiratory rate | Reported in breaths per minute. The normal respiration rate for adults at rest is 12-16 breaths per minute. |
| Electrocardiogram (ECG) | Records the electrical activity of the heart, usually displayed as the top wavy line on the monitor. |
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Heart rate
Hospital monitors display a patient's vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and body temperature. Heart rate, also known as HR or PR (pulse rate), is usually displayed using green numbers in the top right corner of the monitor. The number is presented in beats per minute (bpm), with a normal adult's resting heart rate falling between 60 and 100 bpm.
The ECG waveform, or the top wavy line on the monitor, provides an image of the pulse rate, with each spike or peak corresponding to a heartbeat. Healthcare practitioners are trained to read and interpret these waveforms, which can indicate any irregularities in the patient's heart rhythm.
While monitors may vary across hospitals, understanding the basics of patient monitor interpretation can provide valuable insight into a patient's real-time vitals and overall condition. Bedside nurses are also a great resource for interpreting monitors, as they often have tricks for setup, modification, and interpretation.
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Blood pressure
The systolic blood pressure is the first number displayed on a blood pressure monitor. It measures the pressure your blood is pushing against your artery walls when your heart beats. The diastolic blood pressure is the second number. It measures the pressure your blood is pushing against your artery walls while the heart muscle rests between beats.
A higher systolic or diastolic reading may be used to diagnose high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. However, the systolic blood pressure tells more about risk factors for heart disease for people over 50. As people get older, their systolic blood pressure usually increases. Increases in systolic pressure are more consistently associated with increases in disease risk when compared with diastolic blood pressure. However, elevated diastolic pressure is also a risk factor for disease. If you have, for example, a "normal" systolic pressure but "stage 1" diastolic hypertension, you would be diagnosed with stage 1 hypertension.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends home monitoring for all people with high blood pressure to help their health care professional determine whether treatments are working. Home monitoring can also be used to confirm the diagnosis of high blood pressure. The AHA recommends an automatic, cuff-style, upper arm (biceps) monitor. Wrist and finger monitors are not recommended as they give less reliable readings.
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Oxygen saturation
Pulse oximetry is a quick, harmless, and non-invasive way to check a patient's blood oxygen level, providing near-immediate readings. It is particularly useful for monitoring patients with lung and heart disorders who are at risk of low oxygen levels, as well as patients before, during, and after surgery. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pulse oximeters became popular for home-based use as the illness can cause significant drops in blood oxygen saturation. However, it is important to note that the accuracy of pulse oximeters can be affected by factors such as skin pigmentation, and they are least accurate when saturation is below 80%.
In a hospital setting, oxygen saturation is one of the vital signs displayed on a patient monitor, along with heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and respiration rate. On the monitor, oxygen saturation may be labelled as SpO2, and it is usually displayed as a number followed by a percentage sign. If a patient's vital signs fall outside healthy levels, the monitor will typically sound a warning and may highlight the problematic reading or change the colour of the display.
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Body temperature
Hospital monitors are crucial medical devices that help healthcare professionals monitor their patients' vital signs. One of these vital signs is body temperature.
Temperature monitoring is an important tool for healthcare professionals to assess a patient's internal warmth and detect potential infections, hyperthermia, or hypothermia. A fever is indicated when body temperature rises about one degree or more above the normal temperature of 98.6°F. Hypothermia, on the other hand, is defined as a body temperature drop below 95°F.
Temperature can be measured in various ways, including orally, rectally, by ear, or by skin. Orally, a classic glass thermometer or a modern digital thermometer can be used. Rectal temperature readings tend to be 0.5 to 0.7 degrees F higher than oral measurements. Special thermometers can also quickly measure the temperature of the eardrum or the skin on the forehead.
In addition to temperature, hospital monitors track other vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation. These parameters provide valuable insights into a patient's overall health and facilitate prompt intervention by healthcare professionals when necessary.
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Respiratory rate
The respiratory waveform can be helpful for clinicians monitoring respiratory issues like apnea or dyspnea. The "RESP" waveform on the monitor is useful for clinicians to monitor any respiratory issues. The SpO2 waveform can help determine if there are any issues with circulation or peripheral perfusion. It is a measure of the amount of oxygen in the patient's blood. Each peak of the SpO2 waveform should correlate with a heartbeat on the ECG waveform at the same intervals, as oxygenated blood is pumped out of the heart with each heartbeat.
Oxygen saturation is typically monitored using a pulse oximeter, a small clip on the patient's finger or toe. The SpO2 number isn't always displayed on the patient monitor, but it will usually be shown if the patient is experiencing a respiratory condition such as pneumonia or COVID-19. The normal oxygen saturation level is 95% or higher, and anything below 90% means the body may not be getting enough oxygen.
If a patient's respiratory rate is under 12 or over 25 breaths per minute while lying in bed, doctors consider their breathing abnormal. Several conditions can change a patient's regular respiratory rate, including anxiety and heart failure. For example, if a clinician sees a 20 in the RR section of the vital signs monitor, this may indicate that the patient is experiencing distress potentially caused by pain or anxiety.
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Frequently asked questions
HR stands for Heart Rate. It is typically displayed using bold, green numbers and is placed in the top right corner of the screen.
PR stands for Pulse Rate. It is sometimes used instead of HR to indicate heart rate.
SpO2 stands for Oxygen Saturation. It measures the amount of oxygen in a patient's blood on a scale up to 100.
ECG stands for Electrocardiogram. It records the electrical activity of the heart and is usually displayed as the top wavy line on the monitor.
Each spike or peak in the ECG waveform corresponds to a heartbeat. If the patient has a regular heartbeat, these spikes will occur at regular intervals.
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