The Nurse Is Taking an Initial Blood Pressure on a 72-Year-Old

The nurse is taking an initial blood pressure on a 72-year-old patient with documented hypertension.How should the nurse proceed?

A) Place the cuff on the patient's arm and inflate it 30 mm Hg above the patient's pulse rate.
B) Inflate the cuff to 200 mm Hg in an attempt to obtain the most accurate systolic reading.
C) Inflate the blood pressure cuff 30 mm Hg above the point at which the palpated pulse disappears.
D) Look at the patient's past blood pressure readings and inflate the cuff 30 mm Hg above the highest systolic reading recorded.