The official podcast of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) is hosted by Alli Bechtel, MD, featuring the latest information and news in perioperative and anesthesia patient safety. The APSF podcast is intended for anesthesiologists, anesthetists, clinicians and other professionals with an interest in anesthesiology, and patient safety advocates around the world.
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Podcast delivers the best of the APSF Newsletter and website directly to you, so you can listen on the go! This includes some of the most important COVID-19 information on airway management, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE), drug information, and elective surgery recommendations.
Don’t forget to check out APSF.org for the show notes that accompany each episode, and email us at [email protected] with your suggestions for future episodes. Visit us at APSF.org/podcast and at @APSForg on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The standard of care for monitoring blood pressure during surgery hasn't changed in nearly 40 years, despite technological advances that could prevent serious complications and save lives. This eye-opening episode takes listeners inside a recent Capitol Hill briefing where healthcare professionals, lawmakers, and patient safety advocates made the case for continuous blood pressure monitoring as a critical patient safety measure.
Alarming statistics frame the urgency of this issue: one in nine Americans undergoes surgery annually, with 88% experiencing potentially dangerous hypotension. Traditional arm cuffs that measure blood pressure only every few minutes leave dangerous blind spots where rapid drops may go undetected. The consequences can be devastating – kidney injury, heart damage, stroke, and even death. For pregnant women undergoing cesarean sections, the risks extend to their babies, with maternal hypotension potentially causing fetal acidosis and neurological compromise.
With the United States maintaining the highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy nations and evidence showing that more than half of pregnancy-related deaths are potentially avoidable, this episode makes a powerful case for updating our standards. The technology exists, the evidence supports it, and the benefits are clear – it's time for healthcare providers, policymakers, and industry leaders to collaborate in making continuous blood pressure monitoring the new standard of care.
Ready to become a champion for continuous blood pressure monitoring at your institution? Visit APSF.org to learn more about this lifesaving technology and join the movement to ensure no one is harmed by anesthesia care.
For show notes & transcript, visit our episode page at apsf.org: https://www.apsf.org/podcast/263-blood-pressure-blind-spots/
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