If i could only take one vital sign, which should it be and why?

Answer 1

The first answer is wrong. To be clinically alive, metabolically, you need a heart beat. If you have a heart beat, someone else can manually supply your air. Without blood flow, you are dead.

Answer 2

I hope this isn't a question from school. It's totally irrelevant because you never are in the situation of being limited to taking one vital sign. Which vital sign should you take first, maybe? Well just like the first lady said, she is correct, always ABC. Check for respirations, without an airway, even if you did compressions for heart attack it wouldn't matter, the person wouldn't survive. First, airway. But that takes a half a second most of the time you can see a person breathing, or feel for breath. If indeed they are breathing, go for the pulse, when you have that then go for the pressure. If you still have an unresponsive patient with respirations, pulse and good pressures, then go for the blood sugar. If that is fine, keep waiting for help to arrive, because calling for that is the first thing you should do! And keep checking those same vitals, sans the blood sugar. Are we talking non-medical professional, nursing or doctoring? It all depends on your skill level.

Answer 3

Has to be the pulse ox. It gives you the single most important piece of information - oxygenation of the blood. It doesn't matter how fast the heart beats or how high the pressure is if the blood isn't carrying enough oxygen.

That monitor will also tell you the heart rate, and let you know that you have a blood pressure that is at least enough to perfuse a finger (generally greater than 60 mmHg systolic).

Answer 4

the single best monitor is the pulse oximeter. it measures oxygen saturation which is a good predictor of adequate breathing. also, the pulse oximeter will measure the heart rate. and although the pulse oximeter won't measure the blood pressure, if there is enough pulsatile blood flow going to your finger to register a reading, then you can be fairly well reassured that there is also adequate blood blow to the vital organs.

Answer 5

Blood pressure! This will tell you whether the heart is beating (no heart beat - no blood pressure), the lungs are breathing (no blood pressure and it doesn't matter if you can breathe), and a lot more (tachycardia, bradycardia, arrhythmia, possible blood loss, etc.).

Answer 6

airway...ABC Airway, breathing and circulation in that order are the most important.
If you don't have an airway, you don't have the other 2...then you move down the list.....

Answer 7

blood pressure.