Der Blutdruck kann falsch hoch angezeigt werden, wenn der Arm nicht richtig positioniert ist, schlagen Forscher vor | Eine neue Studie zeigt, dass die Messwerte etwa 4 Millimeter Quecksilbersäule höher waren, wenn die Teilnehmer ihren Arm auf Schoß- oder Seitenhöhe hielten.
Blood pressure may read falsely high if the arm isn’t positioned properly
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As someone who has had hypertension since I was fairly young, I’m pretty sure we (i.e. science) were always aware of this, but it wasn’t always practiced by all medical professionals. Sometimes the nurse would specify to keep my arm elevated above my heart, but also sometimes another would just check with it hanging by my side.
Seems like one of those medical facts that people learned but then took for granted. Appreciate the added study, though.
I’d really like to see a way to monitor blood pressure in real time. I know it’s probably not practical, but blood pressure fluctuates SO much due to so many different conditions (posture, activity, positioning, mental state, etc.). I get that high resting blood pressure by itself is a big red flag, but other people whose resting blood pressure is ok might be at risk for similar conditions if they have elevated blood pressure the rest of the day.
I’ve always been confused about blood pressure readings. I’m a healthy young male and recently went to the dentist and got a crazy reading of 153/90 then an hour later went to the doctor(right before having a shot and blood drawn btw) and had a reading of 127/70.
Which is probably why mine reads slightly high. It doesn’t naturally land on the armrest
That’s because of gravity, and it’s location in relation to the heart.
If the BP cuff is below the heart, it’s high via more blood pooling. If you hold you arm in the air, it’ll be lower ect.
Also crossing your legs can increase your reading.
Is 4 mmHg even clinically significant? I bet back to back readings vary by more than that.
This is so true, and at times the effect is even understated. For me, the variance between arm at my side and arm on the counter is about 10 points. For me, that’s the difference between “up the meds” and “we should consider taking you off meds”
The cuff is in the same place, just the arm position is different.
Guess which standard my GP uses?
Arm positioning, cuffs that are slightly too small/too big, etc are all factors that may affect the reading but only a negligible amount.
When you think about blood pressure, think big picture. Is the top number 100 or less, and you feel dizzy when you get up? Go see a doctor if it keeps persisting. Is the top number over 150, and after resting for 30min and trying again it is still over 150? Make an appointment to see your doctor. Is the top number getting close to 200? Go to the hospital.
Blood pressure should be considered in broad strokes, not number by number readings. I’ve had elderly patients stress themselves out because the bottom number was 2 digits higher that day, convinced it was bad for their health (while being in a completely normal range).