NBP vs ABP: cuff pressure vs arterial line

The blood pressure drops on a simulated monitor. The arterial line follows beat by beat, while the cuff keeps showing the old value until it measures again.

Transcript

The red arterial pressure comes from a catheter in an artery. It updates with every single heartbeat.

The purple NBP comes from a cuff. It is one measurement, and it stays on the screen until the next one.

Watch what happens when the pressure drops. The arterial line follows it down, beat by beat. The cuff still shows the old value, as if nothing had happened.

Only a new cuff measurement catches up, and that takes about fourteen seconds.

A few points of difference between the two is normal. Compare the mean pressure in brackets, not the systolic.

Read more on the difference at patientmonitorsimulator.com.