A comparison of blood pressure measurement over a sleeved arm versus a bare arm

Abstract

"The measurement of blood pressure is one of the most common examinations undertaken in family practice and has important health and management consequences for the patient. Accurate assessment of blood pressure, therefore, is very important. Current guidelines outline standards for obtaining accurate and reproducible blood pressure measurements.1 These standards include guidelines for the sizes of blood pressure cuffs and the position of the patient’s arm, as well as a recommendation that the patient be seated for 5 minutes before his or her blood pressure is taken. In addition, it has been recommended that blood pressure be measured over the patient’s bare arm.1 However, the current recommended method to determine blood pressure2 has several limitations (e.g., high variability of blood pressure at different times of day or if measured only once, loss of proper technique post-training)."