Clinical Comparison of Automatic, Noninvasive Measurements of Blood Pressure in the Forearm and Upper Arm With the Patient Supine or With the Head of the Bed Raised 45°: A Follow-Up Study

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Schell ◽  
Denise Lyons ◽  
Elisabeth Bradley ◽  
Linda Bucher ◽  
Maureen Seckel ◽  
...  

• Background Noninvasive measurement of blood pressure in the forearm is used when the upper arm is inaccessible and/or when available blood pressure cuffs do not fit a patient’s arm. Evidence supporting this practice is limited. • Objective To compare noninvasive measurements of blood pressure in the forearm and upper arm of medical-surgical inpatients positioned supine and with the head of the bed raised 45°. • Methods Cuff size was selected on the basis of forearm and upper arm circumference and manufacturers’ recommendations. With a Welch Allyn Vital Signs 420 Series monitor, blood pressures were measured in the forearm and then in the upper arm of 221 supine patients with their arms resting at their sides. Patients were repositioned with the head of the bed elevated 45° and after 2 minutes, blood pressures were measured in the upper arm and then the forearm. Starting position was alternated on subsequent subjects. • ResultsPaired t tests revealed significant differences between systolic and diastolic blood pressures measured in the upper arm and forearm with patients supine and with the head of the bed elevated 45°. The Bland-Altman procedure revealed that the distances between the mean values and the limits of agreement were from 15 to 33 mm Hg for individual subjects. • Conclusions Noninvasive measurements of blood pressure in the forearm and upper arm cannot be interchanged in medical-surgical patients who are supine or in patients with the head of the bed elevated 45°.

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Schell ◽  
Elisabeth Bradley ◽  
Linda Bucher ◽  
Maureen Seckel ◽  
Denise Lyons ◽  
...  

• Background When the upper arm (area from shoulder to elbow) is inaccessible and/or a standard-sized blood pressure cuff does not fit, some healthcare workers use the forearm to measure blood pressure. • Objective To compare automatic noninvasive measurements of blood pressure in the upper arm and forearm. • Methods A descriptive, correlational comparison study was conducted in the emergency department of a 1071-bed teaching hospital. Subjects were 204 English-speaking patients 6 to 91 years old in medically stable condition who had entered the department on foot or by wheelchair and who had no exclusions to using their left upper extremity. A Welch Allyn Vital Signs 420 series monitor was used to measure blood pressure in the left upper arm and forearm with the subject seated and the upper arm or forearm at heart level. • Results Pearson r correlation coefficients between measurements in the upper arm and forearm were 0.88 for systolic blood pressure and 0.76 for diastolic blood pressure (P < .001 for both). Mean systolic pressures, but not mean diastolic pressures, in the upper arm and forearm differed significantly (t = 2.07, P = .04). A Bland-Altman analysis indicated that the distances between the mean values and the limits of agreement for the 2 sites ranged from 15 mm Hg (mean arterial pressure) to 18.4 mm Hg (systolic pressure). • Conclusions Despite strict attention to correct cuff size and placement of the upper arm or forearm at heart level, measurements of blood pressure obtained noninvasively in the arm and forearm of seated patients in stable condition are not interchangeable.


Hypertension ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren East ◽  
Zainab Mahmoud ◽  
Amanda Verma

Introduction: The Post-COVID Cardiology Clinic at Washington University evaluates and treats patients with ongoing cardiovascular symptoms following acute COVID-19 infection. One clinical manifestation seen in the clinic is an increase in blood pressure, with associated symptoms like chest pain. Our investigation aims to describe the increase in blood pressure seen in symptomatic patients presenting to the Post-COVID Cardiology Clinic. Methods: The study employed a retrospective cohort design of consecutive adult patients who presented between September 2020 to May 2021 with cardiovascular symptoms following COVID-19 infection. Demographic information, symptoms, vital signs, and follow-up visit data were collected for the patients. To determine a baseline blood pressure, two blood pressure readings from office visits prior to COVID-19 infection were averaged. The blood pressure values were compared between baseline and cardiology office visits using a non-parametric Wilcoxon test for paired data. Results: One-hundred patients were included in the cohort (mean age 46.4 years (SD 46.4); 81% (81) female). At the initial visit, there was a significant increase in systolic (median 128 mmHg) and diastolic (median 83.5 mmHg) blood pressure from baseline (systolic median 121.5, p=0.029; diastolic median 76, p<0.001). All patients with an increase in blood pressure reported symptoms like chest pain. In the subset of 36 (36%) patients that have followed up, 35 (97%) patients were prescribed a new anti-hypertensive or required an increased dose of a prior anti-hypertensive at their initial visit. Blood pressures at follow-up were not significantly different from baseline (median systolic delta= 1.0mmHg, diastolic delta= -1.0mmHg; p>0.05), and 83% (30) reported improvement in symptoms. Conclusions: Patients presenting with cardiovascular symptoms post-acute COVID-19 show increased blood pressure when compared to blood pressure prior to infection. During subsequent follow-up appointments, patients showed improvement in their blood pressure and symptoms. While the pathophysiology has yet to be determined, it is likely related to the effects of a proinflammatory state, endothelial dysfunction, dysautonomia, or altered effects of the RAAS.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam H de Havenon ◽  
Alexandra Kvernland ◽  
Alen Delic ◽  
Ka-ho Wong ◽  
Nazanin Sheibani ◽  
...  

Background: Recurrent stroke has higher morbidity and mortality than incident stroke. We evaluated hemodynamic risk factors for multiple recurrent strokes. Methods: We included patients in the SPS3 trial. The primary predictor was the top tertile, compared to the bottom tertile, of the mean systolic blood pressure (mSBP) and blood pressure variability represented as standard deviation (sdSBP) using blood pressures from day 30 of the trial to the end of follow-up. We excluded blood pressures from the first 30 days to reduce confounding from the trial’s intervention. We fit a logistic regression model to ≥2 recurrent strokes from day 30 to the end of follow-up and, to accurately analyze the multiple failure-time data, we ordered the multiple failure events to the Prentice, Williams and Peterson extension of the Cox proportional-hazards model. Results: We included 2,882 patients, of which 223 had a recurrent stroke and 41/223 had ≥2 recurrent strokes for a total of 272 strokes. The mean (SD) number of blood pressure readings was 78.0 (37.4). The etiology of the 272 strokes was 161 (59.2%) lacunar, 22 (8.1%) intracranial atherosclerosis, 10 (3.7%) extracranial atherosclerosis, 24 (8.8%) cardioembolic, and 55 (20.2%) cryptogenic or other. In both unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models and PWP Cox models, the top tertile of sdSBP was consistently predictive of multiple recurrent strokes, while mSBP was not (Tables 1/2). Conclusions: We found that in patients with an index lacunar stroke, higher SBP variability, but not mean SBP, was predictive of multiple recurrent strokes of varying mechanisms.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-243
Author(s):  
Myung K. Park ◽  
Da-Hae Lee

Indirect BP measurement was obtained in the right upper arm in 219 healthy newborn infants with the Dinamap monitor and was compared with values obtained from the calf to establish normative BP values and to help establish a diagnosis of hypertension and coarctation of the aorta in the newborn. There were 174 Mexican-Americans (79.5%), 33 whites (15.0%), and 12 blacks (5.5%). The width of the BP cuff was selected to be 0.4 to 0.5 times the circumference of the extremities. Three supine position readings of BPs and heart rate were obtained from each site and were averaged for statistical analyses. Mean arm BP values (±SD) of the neonate less than 36 hours of age were 62.6±6.9/38.9± 5.7 mm Hg (48.0±6.2 mm Hg). Neonates older than 36 hours had slightly but significantly (P&lt;.05) greater values (4 to 6 mm Hg) than did infants younger than 36 hours of age. Active neonates had values 6 to 10 mm Hg greater than quiet neonates (P&lt;.05). BP values in the calf obtained with the same-sized cuff were almost identical with those obtained from the arm. Differences in consecutively obtained arm and calf BPs (arm values minus calf values) were 1.1±7.7 mm Hg systolic, -0.01 ± 6.2 mm Hg diastolic, and 0.9 ±6.9 mm Hg mean pressures. Mean heart rate (±SD) of neonates less than 36 hours of age was 129.4± 13.2 beats per minute and that of neonates older than 36 hours of age was 139.4± 14.1 beats per minute. These results show the following: (1) arm BPs and calf BPs using the same-sized cuff are almost identical with mean values of approximately 65/ 41 mm Hg (50 mm Hg) in neonates one to three days of age, (2) arm BP of 75/49 mm Hg (59 mm Hg) or greater is in the hypertensive range, and (3) calf BPs that are less than arm BPs by mean + 1 SD (6 to 9 mm Hg) necessitate a thorough investigation for coarctation of the aorta.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Birundu Mogendi ◽  
Hans De Steur ◽  
Xavier Gellynck ◽  
Hibbah Araba Saeed ◽  
Anselimo Makokha

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1071-1075
Author(s):  
David E. Fixler ◽  
W. Pennock Laird ◽  
Kent Dana

The purpose of this study was to determine whether values of blood pressure during exercise help predict which adolescents are prone to maintain high blood pressure. Dynamic and isometric exercise stress tests were performed on 131 adolescents who had had systolic or diastolic pressures greater than the 95th percentile on three examinations the previous year. Follow-up blood pressures were measured 1 year after the stress testing, and outcomes were classified on the basis of the blood pressure status that year. Stepwise regression analysis was used to examine the association between earlier blood pressures and exercise pressures with outcome pressures. In both male and female adolescents, the average resting systolic pressure on the earlier survey was the best predictor of systolic pressure 2 years later. Blood pressures and heart rates during dynamic and isometric exercise did not significantly contribute to the models' prediction of future systolic or diastolic pressures. The data suggest that exercise stress testing is not a valid method for predicting youths whose blood pressures will remain elevated over the next 1 to 2 years.


VASA ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Påhlsson ◽  
Jörneskog ◽  
Wahlberg

Background: Toe blood pressure is a valuable and often used parameter when lower limb ischaemia is evaluated in patients with diabetes, but little has been done to standardise the method. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the cuff size influences the toe blood pressure values obtained in patients with diabetes. Patients and methods: Eleven patients with diabetes without a history of peripheral vascular disease, and six age matched healthy subjects were investigated. Their blood pressures were measured in the upper arm and at the ankle level repetitively. For measurement of toe blood pressure two different cuff widths were used. Results: All blood pressures were similar in patients and control subjects, as well as over time. The toe blood pressure values were 18 mmHg higher (p < 0.01) if measured with a 2.0-cm compared to a 2.5-cm wide cuff. There was a relationship (r = 0.63, p < 0.05 for patients) between toe circumference and the toe blood pressure value, where smaller halluxes gave lower values. Conclusions: The cuff width influences the obtained toe blood pressure value and needs to be considered when evaluating limb ischemia in patients with diabetes.


1980 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-674
Author(s):  
John E. Martin ◽  
Leonard H. Epstein

A multiple baseline across subject/settings design was employed to assess the specificity of the effects of progressive relaxation in two recently diagnosed, mild hypertensives. Relaxation was implemented successively across laboratory and home settings. In Subject 1, laboratory relaxation was associated with control over diastolic blood pressure, while in Subject 2, control over systolic pressure was observed. Improvements to normotensive levels were observed for both subjects, and the changes were maintained in both settings for Subject 2 at 6- and 12-mo. follow-up. Subject 1 discontinued her medications, relaxation, and self-monitoring of blood pressure, which was associated with an increase in blood pressure during treatment maintenance; however, at 6- and 12-mo. follow-up, both home and laboratory blood pressures were within normotensive range.


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