The findings of a new study surprised researchers. What a mistake even doctors make, who usually have a sphygmomanometer in their office for all patients.
What are the risks?.
If you are measuring your blood pressure with an arm sphygmomanometer, check how well it suits you. The size of the cuff can make a difference in the diagnosis of hypertension, warn US scientists.
The sphygmomanometers (or sphygmomanometers) μπράτσου διαθέτουν περιχειρίδες πολλών μεγεθών. Current hypertension guidelines recommend that doctors use the one that best fits the patient's arm. In practice, Nevertheless, In most clinics and clinics there is a sphygmomanometer, with a medium-sized cuff, for all patients.
In the new study, the scientists wanted to determine if this tactic worked. Their conclusion was negative.
Small sphygmomanometer in large arms
As they found out, when using an average sphygmomanometer in patients with large arms, the measurements were not accurate at all.
Especially for people with very large arms, the measurement of systolic pressure was often increased by 20 mmHg. Obese patients often have very large arms, those who do weights etc..
This difference is enough to consider a person who actually has normal or slightly elevated blood pressure to be hypertensive.. It could e.g.. to have pressure 120 mmHg (the 12, as it is commonly called) and be measured as if it had 140.
The new findings surprised even the researchers themselves. «We did not expect the sphygmomanometer to make such a big difference in the measurement», παραδέχτηκε η lead researcher Dr. Tammy Brady, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. «The 20 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) are many».
Nevertheless, η μελέτη έδειξε ότι the 39% of participants with large arms were misdiagnosed with hypertension, because the cuff was too small!
Large sphygmomanometer in thin arms
But there was also a problem in people with very thin arms. When the researchers measured their blood pressure with a medium-sized sphygmomanometer, this "lost" on average 4 mmHg by their systolic pressure.
This difference is clearly smaller than,what about people with big arms. However, the consequence is very worrying. If it had not been re-checked with the correct sphygmomanometer, would not have been diagnosed with hypertension 22% of participants in this part of the study!
«Our findings are very worrying. We believe that many doctors do not know how important the size of the cuff is», stressed Dr.. Brady.
Μαζί της συμφώνησε ο Dr. Willie Lawrence, επικεφαλής της Συμβουλευτικής Επιτροπής για τον Έλεγχο της Υπέρτασης της Αμερικανικής Εταιρείας Καρδιάς (AHA). «Proper blood pressure measurement is essential», he said. «Requires specific steps, the first of which is to use the appropriate cuff on each patient». Unfortunately, «people do not understand how important this is», he added.
The new study
Η Dr. Brady presented the new study at the Epidemiology Conference, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health 2022 (EPI-Lifestyle 2022). The conference is organized by the AHA in Chicago.
As he said, participated in the study 165 volunteers, subjected to blood pressure measurement. Depending on the size of their arms they were measured:
- With a sphygmomanometer with a medium-sized cuff and
- With a sphygmomanometer with a cuff that matched their arm
The 39 of the participants had very large arms. Their perimeter ranged between 40 and 55 cm. When their pressure was measured with the appropriate cuff, the mean value of systolic pressure was 124 mmHg. This value is below the hypertension threshold.
When, Nevertheless, their pressure was measured with the middle cuff, the systolic pressure reached 144 mmHg. This value corresponds to the stage 2 hypertension!
The opposite happened to the volunteers with a very small arm circumference (22,5 to 25 centimeters). With the middle cuff, their systolic pressure was 119 mmHg on average. With the right, but it was a smaller cuff 123 mmHg.
Pressure values
Systolic pressure is the large number in the measurement. Represents the pressure exerted by the blood on the wall of the arteries as it leaves the heart. Respectively, diastolic pressure is the small number in the measurement. Represents the pressure when the heart rests between beats.
Systolic blood pressure is considered elevated when it exceeds 120 mmHg. Prices between 130 and 139 mmHg are considered staged 1 hypertension.
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