PRESSURE MEASUREMENT : ARM CIRCUMFERENCE AND CUFF SIZE AVAILABILITY

To avoid inaccurate blood pressure (BP) readings, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends cuff width (CW) encircling 40% of the arm circumference (AC) and cuff length at least 80-100%. This study aimed to identify inpatients AC, the corresponding cuff size and the cuff size availability. In total, 81 AC were measured in the right arm. The cuff sizes to fit them were calculated according to AHA AC/CW width 0.40 ratio. The AC varied from 17.5 to 40.5 cm and the corresponding cuff width from 6 to 16 cm. The standard cuff 12 by 23 cm, the only size available in the clinics, was appropriate for only 17.3% of the subjects, whose AC varied between 32.5 and 34.3 cm. The lack of availability of different cuff sizes continues being a challenging problem to be faced. The standard cuff available, 12 cm large, did not fit 82.7% of the identified AC, resulting in over or underestimated BP registers.

[1]  S. A. de Moraes,et al.  Assessment of the techniques of blood pressure measurement by health professionals. , 2003, Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia.

[2]  Thelma Leite de Araujo,et al.  Sons de Korotkoff: desenvolvimento da pesquisa em esfigmomanometria na Escola de Enfermagem da USP , 2007 .

[3]  Thelma Leite de Araujo,et al.  Influência de fatores anátomo-fisiológicos na medida indireta da pressão arterial: identificação do conhecimento dos enfermeiros , 1998 .

[4]  A. C. Burton,et al.  Recommendations for Human Blood Pressure Determination By Sphygmomanometers , 1981, Circulation.

[5]  Daniel W. Jones,et al.  Recommendations for blood pressure measurement in humans and experimental animals: Part 1: blood pressure measurement in humans: a statement for professionals from the Subcommittee of Professional and Public Education of the American Heart Association Council on High Blood Pressure Research. , 2005, Hypertension.

[6]  W. Hamilton,et al.  Recommendations for Human Blood Pressure Determinations by Sphygmomanometers , 1951, Circulation.

[7]  B. Morgenstern,et al.  Human blood pressure determination by sphygmomanometry. , 1993, Circulation.

[8]  Marco Aurélio,et al.  Avaliação de Técnicas da Medida da Pressão Arterial pelos , 2003 .

[9]  J. Griffith,et al.  Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction: a randomized trial. , 2005, JAMA.

[10]  J. Wilcox,et al.  Observer factors in the measurement of blood pressure. , 1962, Nursing research.

[11]  A. C. Burton,et al.  RECOMMENDATIONS for human blood pressure determinations by sphygmomanometers. , 1967, Journal of the American Medical Association.

[12]  H. Recklinghausen.  Ueber Blutdruckmessung beim Menschen , 1901, Archiv für experimentelle Pathologie und Pharmakologie.

[13]  Lyne Cloutier.  L'évaluation des connaissances théoriques et pratiques des infirmières à l'égard de la mesure de la pression artérielle , 2007 .

[14]  Yutaka Imai,et al.  Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring of the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol for validation of blood pressure measuring devices in adults , 2002, Blood pressure monitoring.

[15]  A. Dominiczak,et al.  2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension: The Task Force for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) , 2007, European heart journal.

[16]  T. Cavalcante,et al.  Cuff dimension for children and adolescents: a study in a northeastern Brazilian city. , 2008, Revista latino-americana de enfermagem.

[17]  E. Gregg,et al.  Secular Trends in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors According to Body Mass Index in US Adults , 2005 .

[18]  G Parati,et al.  Alerting reaction and rise in blood pressure during measurement by physician and nurse. , 1987, Hypertension.