Small sensors attached to the body transport monitor information. Some sensors are patches on your skin while others can be clipped on one finger. Today many patient monitors have touch screen technology and receive wireless information.
The basic displays show your cardiac rates, blood pressure and body temperature. More advanced models of patient monitor will also demonstrate how much oxygen is carried by your blood or how quickly you breathe. Some may even demonstrate how much pressure your brain is or how much carbon dioxide you breathe. If any of your vital signs are below safe levels, the patient monitor produces certain sounds.
The main vital signs that medical professionals and health care providers routinely monitor on patient monitors are as follows:
Heart rate- the hearts of healthy people usually beat 60 to 100 times a minute. People who are more active and exercise regularly tend to have slower heart rates.
Blood pressure: this is a measure of the strength on your arteries when the heart beats, or when it is at rest (diastolic pressure). The first (substantial) number should be 100 to 130; the second (diastolic) should be 60 to 80.
Temperature: The normal body temperature is usually 98.6 F, but can indeed be less than 98°F to just over 99°C without concern.
Respiration: A relaxing adult breathes 12 to 16 times a minute.
Saturation of oxygen: This number measures up to 100 the amount of oxygen in your blood. The number is usually 95 or higher and anything below 90 does not give the body sufficient oxygen.
If one of your vital signs goes up or out of health, the patient monitor sounds a warning. This usually includes a beeping sound and a blinking color.
If vital signs spiked or dropped sharply, the alarm would get louder, faster or change in pitch. This is to let the caregiver or parents know to check on you. Nurses are often first to attend to the injured, but life-saving alarms alert several people of a health danger and so help is called for.
