Blood pressure 'should be measured in both arms'

[malaise]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16739682
<snip>
Measuring blood pressure in both arms should be routine because the difference between left and right arm could indicate underlying health problems, says a study review.

The Lancet research found that a large difference could mean an increased risk of vascular disease and death.

Although existing guidelines state that blood pressure should be measured in both arms, it is not often done.

The arm with the higher pressure can vary between individuals, but it is the difference between arms that counts, the study suggests.

Dr Christopher Clark and colleagues, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Exeter, reviewed 28 previous study papers looking at this area.

Most people in the study had an elevated blood pressure risk and about one-third had a normal level of risk.

The study concluded that a difference in systolic blood pressure of 10 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg) between arms could identify patients at high risk of asymptomatic peripheral vascular disease.

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[mucifer]

2. I have noticed a lot of my patients have different BPs in each arm.

But, I am a hospice nurse. Lots of times I can hear it in one arm and not the other.

[avaistheone1]

4. So which arm do you record after taking both readings?

Or do you average them?

[mucifer]

7. The one I can hear better.

Sometimes I chart that I did it in each arm and it is different.

[bahrbearian]

6. K&R