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Best Basic Life Support Tests

Checking for a pulse is one of the first tests taught to health care professionals as a way to tell if life support is required. More formal electronics and techniques are incorporated once a patient has been stabilized. Some of the most basic life support tests include regular blood pressure tests, electrocardiograms and heart monitoring. Basic life support (BLS) that follows the tests includes intravenous fluids, ventilation, CPR and defibrillation.

  1. Blood Pressure

    • New and efficient modes of taking a blood pressure are coming on the market all the time. Hospitals and clinics now can take blood pressure on a continual basis through a finger cup or chest monitor. Electronic blood pressure monitors make the process easier and provide constant updates. Blood pressure monitoring is important to prevent and diagnose stroke, fainting and heart attacks. Life support may be necessary when blood pressure readings consistently exceed 140 over 90.

    Continuous Monitoring

    • Small, portable devices are being integrated into hospitals and clinics that provide continuous monitoring. In addition to blood pressure, the one-piece monitoring stations keep a constant assessment going of the patient's pulse and temperature to make sure life support measures are not required. Medical staff is immediately alerted when a patient loses a pulse or temperatures rise to life-threatening levels. Companies such as Welch Allyn develop continuous monitors that can be programmed to sound alarms at certain pre-determined levels.

    Electrocardiograms

    • Electrocardiograms, commonly referred to as ECG or EKG, are best basic life support tests for monitoring the electrical activity in the heart. An electrode that is stuck onto the patient's chest is attached to a machine that relays the heart's activity on a nearby screen in waves. The reports can be printed out on scrolled paper to compare figures over time.

    Pain Tests

    • While most pain monitoring is performed by asking patients to rate the level of their pain, monitoring techniques are available that can gauge accelerated pain levels when the patient is unconscious or in danger of paralysis. According to the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, a test that utilizes electrical stimulation called somatosensory-evoked potentials (SSEP) can alert surgeons when a life-threatening blood clot has been exposed in the spinal cord. Transcranial electrical impulses given during surgery also can help reduce deaths from sudden undetermined brain blood clots.
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    Portable Tests

    • Effective modes of portable testing are available for patients who require constant life support monitoring. Companies such as Yanko Design have created stylish wearable systems that produce blood pressure and pulse readings. After taking a baseline reading, medical personnel can send a signal to the wearer of the Vital Monitoring System, which is worn on the wrist as a bracelet. The alert is a reminder to take a reading. Patients perform the test and vitals are sent via wireless remote. The Bluetooth monitoring device made by Exmocare can monitor pulse, heart rate and as many as 10 emotions for patients suffering from dementia. The watch can alert caregivers when the wearer becomes agitated so that life saving measures can be taken.

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