How to Figure the Mean of a Blood Pressure Reading
One of the vital signs routinely taken on every visit to a physician is
blood pressure. This is an indicator of how hard the heart is working to
get blood to all of the body and how much resistance arteries and veins
are placing on the flow of blood. If the heart is working too hard or
the blood vessels are narrowed because of cholesterol deposits, blood
pressure is affected. The mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) is a
measure of the average blood pressure of an individual and used as a
standardized way to diagnose or treat high blood pressure
(hypertension).
Things You'll Need
Blood pressure cuff
Stethoscope
Paper pad
Pen or pencil
Calculator
Instructions:
Reading the Blood Pressure
1.Place the blood pressure cuff over the patient's arm,
inflating it slightly to keep it in place right above the elbow. Have
the patient be still for the remainder of the procedure.
2. Place the stethoscope over the crease of the elbow and
listen for the beating sounds of the brachial or radial arteries, which
run through the crease of the elbow.
3. Inflate the cuff to the point where you no longer hear the artery beating.
4. Release the air from the cuff steadily, writing down the
pressure readings from the pressure dial on the cuff when you begin to
hear the artery beating again. That is the systolic blood pressure
reading in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Then write down the reading
from the pressure dial when you stop hearing it as a result of no
pressure being placed on the artery. This is your diastolic reading.
Calculate Mean Arterial Blood Pressure
5.Make sure the patient was at rest throughout the blood
pressure reading. Any increases in pulse due to activity or exercise
negate the mean arterial blood pressure reading.
6. Subtract the diastolic reading from the systolic reading. This is product A.
7. Multiply product A by 0.33. This is product B.
8. Add the diastolic reading to product B. This is the mean arterial blood pressure reading.
Tips
The formula for
mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) is: MAP= Diastolic + 0.33(Systolic -
Diastolic). This is only an approximation to MAP in a patient at rest.
For a more precise reading, the patient might need to visit a cardiac
laboratory or a cardiologist's office for measurements with more
complicated instruments.
Warnings
Never
self-diagnose and treat hypertension. Only a licensed health care
provider should diagnose and treat you for hypertension or any other
condition. If you find your blood pressure to be elevated, or are
worried about having high blood pressure, consult your health care
provider. There are plenty of treatments and lifestyle changes that he
or she can offer to effectively treat or prevent hypertension.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Tips to Helping Your Sixth Grader Find the Mode, Median, and Mean in Their Math Homework
In the sixth grade, determining the mode,
median and mean in a number series isn't always a simple task. Read on
to learn about how you can help your child better understand what these
mathematical terms mean and how to solve problems that include them.
Helping Your Child with Modes, Medians and Means
What Sixth Graders Learn
The mode, median, and mean of any number series are three common ways
to analyze numerical data, and they frequently show up on the SATs and
other standardized tests. These may seem like simple math skills, but it
can be easy to mix up the terms. Talk to your child's math teacher for
more information about sixth grade math concepts and consider getting
familiar with the Common Core State Standards to track how well your
child is doing.
Teaching about Modes
Teach your child that the mode of a number series is the
number that appears most often. For instance, in the following number
range, the mode is 2: 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 5, 9. To help your child
remember the term 'mode', think of the word 'most'. Mode is useful when
looking at a list of numbers that contains many repeating values.
First, give your child a list of numbers that are out of order, like
this: 4, 5, 3, 9, 9, 7, 6, 7, 9. Then, ask him or her to put the numbers
in order. After the numbers are in order, your child will be able to
see which numbers occur more than one time. In our example above, the
number list would look like this: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9. Your child
should then be able to identify that the mode is 9.
Teaching about Medians and Means
The median can be remembered by your child as being the middle
number. In other words, it is the number that's in the exact middle of a
number range. In the previous number range example, the median is 7.
If there are two numbers in the middle, which happens when you have
an even amount of numbers listed in a series, the median will be halfway
between those numbers. The median can found by adding those two middle
numbers together and then dividing the answer by two. Your child will
most likely get a number with a decimal. For example, in a list that has
5 and 6 at equal distances from either end, the median would be 5.5.
Show your sixth grader that the mean is the average of all the
numbers in a list. To find this, your child must first add all the
numbers in the series. Then, have your child divide the answer by the
number of items in the list, and the result will be the mean. Here's an
example:
Microsoft Excel, a computer spreadsheet program, can be used by students
and professionals to quickly calculate different aspects of a data set,
such as the mean, also known as the average. The mean represents the
sum of the values divided by the number of values. Using Excel to
calculate the average allows you to change your data points to quickly
see how the average would change. For example, if you calculated your
average grade in a class, you could see how doing better or worse on an
assignment would alter your grade.
Instructions:
1. Enter your the data in column A. For example, if you have four numbers to enter, you would enter them in cells A1 through A4.
2.
Determine the range for your data. For example, if you entered four data points, your range would be A1:A4.
3. Enter the formula "=AVERAGE(Range)" into cell B1 to have
Excel automatically calculate the average of your data. In this example,
since your range equals A1:A4, you would enter "=AVERAGE (A1:A4)" into
cell B1 and the average will appear.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
How to Calculate the Geometric Mean
Geometric mean is a mathematical concept that is related to, but easily
confused with, the more commonly used arithmetic mean. To calculate the
geometric mean, use one of the methods below.
If your numbers are 10 and 15, for example, plug in 10 for “first #” and 15 for “second #.”
Solve for X.
Start by cross-multiplying, which means multiplying the pairs of numbers
diagonal to one another and then setting the results on opposite sides
of an = sign. Since X*X is X^2, your equation should look like: X^2 =
(product of your other numbers).
To solve for X, find the square root of your product. If you’re lucky,
the results will be a whole number. If not, you can provide a decimal
answer or leave your answer in square root form, depending on what your
instructor prefers. The example below is in simplified square root form.
Three or More Numbers: Simple Method
Plug your numbers into the equation below.
Mean = (a1 × a2 . . . an)1/n
a1 is your first number, a2 is your second number, and so forth
n is the number of entries
Multiply the numbers (a1, a2, etc.) together.
Calculate the nth root of this number. This is the geometric mean.
Three or More Numbers: Detailed Method
Find the log of each number and add the logarithmic values together.
Find the LOG button on your calculator. When you’re ready, type: (first number) LOG + (second number) LOG + (third number) LOG [+ log of additional numbers as necessary] =. Do not neglect to type = or the number you see will be the log of the most recent number, not the total.
Ex. log 7 + log 9 + log 12 = 2.878521796…
Divide the sum of the logarithmic values by the number of values you added. If you added the logs of three numbers, divide by three.
Ex. 2.878521796 / 3 = .959507265…
Find the antilog of your result. On your calculator, press the 2nd function (usually yellow) and then LOG to activate the secondary function of the log button, or the antilog. This resulting value is the geometric mean.
Ex. antilog .959507265 = 9.109766916. Therefore, the geometric mean of 7, 9, and 12 is 9.12.
Video:
Tips:
Difference between arithmetic and geometric mean:
If you wanted the arithmetic mean of 3, 4 and 18, for
example, you would add 3 + 4 + 18, then divide by 3 because there are
three numbers. The result would be 25/3 or about 8.333..., which shows
that if you had three values of 8.3333..., it would give the same total
as the individual values of 3, 4, and 18. The arithmetic mean answers
the question, "If all the quantities had the same value, what would that
value have to be in order to add up to the same total?"
By contrast, the geometric mean answers the question, "If all
the quantities had the same value, what would that value have to be in
order to have the same product when multiplied?" So to find the
geometric mean of 3, 4 and 18, we would multiply 3 x 4 x 18. This would
give us 216. We would then take the cubic root (cubic root because there
were three original numbers). The answer would be 6. In other words,
since 6 x 6 x 6 = 3 x 4 x 18, 6 is the geometric mean of 3, 4 and 18.
The geometric mean only applies to non-negative numbers. In word
problems where using a geometric mean is appropriate, the scenario will
usually not make sense with negative numbers.
The geometric mean of any set of numbers is always less than or equal to the arithmetic mean of that set.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Mean - This is the average value of a set of numbers.
In the case of problem #1, your numbers are 7, 9, 5, 3, 15, 15. There
are 6 numbers all together right? This is important to know.
To find the mean you must add all of the numbers together, and divide by how many there.
7 + 9 + 5 + 3 + 15 + 15 = 54
54/6= 9
The mean is 9.
Example:
It is often necessary to calculate the mean of something in a school or
work environment. Knowing how to do so is very important. The mean, or
mean average, of a set of numbers is often helpful within other mathematical processes. The process is quite simple, and easily mastered.
Steps
Determine to the set of numbers you want to find the mean of.
Example: 2,3,4,5,6.
Add those numbers together to find the sum. Make sure calculations are accurate!
Example: 2+3+4+5+6=20.
Determine the quantity of numbers in your group.
Example: 2,3,4,5, and 6 are the 5 separate numbers of which an average is desired.
Divide the sum of the numbers (20) by the amount of numbers (5).
Example: 20÷5 = 4
Therefore 4 is the mean of the numbers.
Tips
The mean is easy as you add up all the figures and divide by how many figures there are.
