Systematic difference between blood pressure readings caused by cuff type.
In this study we determine whether blood pressure readings using a cuff of fixed size systematically differed from readings made with a triple-bladder cuff (Tricuff) that automatically adjusts bladder width to arm circumference and assessed subsequent clinical and epidemiological effects. Blood pressure was measured with a standard cuff or a Tricuff in 454 patients visiting an outpatient clinic in the Seychelles (Indian Ocean). Overall means of within-individual standard cuff-Tricuff differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressures were examined in relation to arm circumference and sex. The standard cuff-Tricuff difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased monotonically with circumference (from 4.7 +/- 0.8/3.2 +/- 0.7 mm Hg for arm circumference of 30 to 31 cm to 10.0 +/- 1.1/8.0 +/- 0.9 mm Hg for arm circumference > or = 36 cm) and was larger in women than men. Multivariate linear regression indicated independent effects of arm circumference and sex. Forty percent of subjects with a diastolic blood pressure of > or = 95 mm Hg measured with a standard cuff had values less than 95 mm Hg measured with a Tricuff. Extrapolation to the entire population of the Seychelles decreased the prevalence of blood pressure greater than or equal to 160/95 mm Hg by 11.5% and 24.0% in men and women, respectively, aged 35 to 64 years. The age-adjusted effect of body mass index on systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased twofold using blood pressure readings made with a Tricuff instead of a standard cuff.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Bovet
P
P
Clinical Epidemiology Unit, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Hungerbuhler
P
P
Quilindo
J
J
Grettve
M L
ML
Waeber
B
B
Burnand
B
B
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004867:Equipment Design; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012727:Sex Characteristics