During auscultation of blood pressure, the medical assistant hears the first Korotkoff sound at 128 mmHg and the sounds completely disappear at 76 mmHg. However, there is a silent gap (auscultatory gap) between 110 and 90 mmHg. If only the disappearance of sound is used without recognizing the gap, what erroneous reading would be documented?
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A90/76 mmHg — systolic is falsely low because the gap was mistaken for silence
B128/76 mmHg — the correct reading
C128/110 mmHg — systolic is correct but diastolic is falsely high
D110/76 mmHg — systolic is falsely low because sounds resumed at 90 and the gap went unnoticed
✓ Correct answer: A. 90/76 mmHg — systolic is falsely low because the gap was mistaken for silenceAn auscultatory gap is a period of silence in the middle of Korotkoff sounds; if the cuff is not inflated high enough to pass above the true systolic pressure, the MA may begin listening after the gap, mistaking the resumption of sounds at 90 mmHg for the systolic pressure, yielding a falsely low systolic reading.
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