Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community study

Purpose: Hypertension guidelines recommend measuring blood pressure (BP) on both arms, since an abnormal inter-arm difference (IAD) in BP is associated with an increased risk of vascular abnormalities and cardiovascular (CV) disease. We tested whether an automatic oscillometric BP monitor allowing s...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stefano Omboni, Willem J. Verberk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
Series:Blood Pressure
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08037051.2018.1539619
_version_ 1797685106275516416
author Stefano Omboni
Willem J. Verberk
author_facet Stefano Omboni
Willem J. Verberk
author_sort Stefano Omboni
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: Hypertension guidelines recommend measuring blood pressure (BP) on both arms, since an abnormal inter-arm difference (IAD) in BP is associated with an increased risk of vascular abnormalities and cardiovascular (CV) disease. We tested whether an automatic oscillometric BP monitor allowing simultaneous both arm BP measurement might be effective for screening of subjects with potential vascular disease. Materials and methods: 220 consecutive subjects from an unselected sample of individuals of a small Italian community were screened using an automated upper-arm electronic BP monitor (Microlife WatchBP Office). Seated BP was measured in triplicate at 1 min interval. Demographic and clinical data were collected prior to any BP measurement. An average IAD difference >20 mmHg for systolic (S) and/or >10 mmHg for diastolic (D) BP was considered abnormal. Results: In 9 subjects (4.1%) an abnormal IAD was found, with lower BPs measured in the non-dominant arm (147 ± 28/78 ± 9 vs. 154 ± 15/92 ± 11 mmHg dominant, p<.01). Subjects with a significant IAD were significantly older (71 ± 8 vs. 57 ± 15 years, p=.005), had a greater body mass index (BMI: 32 ± 7 vs. 25 ± 4 kg/m2, p=.0001), higher BP levels (154 ± 15/92 ± 11 vs. 133 ± 18/80 ± 10 mmHg, p=.001) and were more likely to report obesity (56 vs. 13%, p=.001), a history of hypertension (67 vs. 35%, p=.044) or cardiovascular disease (33 vs. 10%, p=.034) than subjects with normal IAD. In a multivariate analysis, a higher BMI [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.29 (1.11, 1.51)] and SBP [1.06 (1.01, 1.10)] were significantly associated with a larger risk of an abnormal IAD (p=.001 and p=.012, respectively). Conclusions: An abnormal IAD in BP is associated with a larger prevalence of CV risk factors and CV disease. Our study confirms that simultaneous both arm BP measurement must always be accomplished in subjects at risk for or with established CV disease.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T00:39:35Z
format Article
id doaj.art-cfeb1bf7cd7e46abb0913d76f270ccae
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0803-7051
1651-1999
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T00:39:35Z
publishDate 2019-01-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Blood Pressure
spelling doaj.art-cfeb1bf7cd7e46abb0913d76f270ccae2023-09-15T08:45:22ZengTaylor & Francis GroupBlood Pressure0803-70511651-19992019-01-01281152210.1080/08037051.2018.15396191539619Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community studyStefano Omboni0Willem J. Verberk1Italian Institute of TelemedicineMaastricht UniversityPurpose: Hypertension guidelines recommend measuring blood pressure (BP) on both arms, since an abnormal inter-arm difference (IAD) in BP is associated with an increased risk of vascular abnormalities and cardiovascular (CV) disease. We tested whether an automatic oscillometric BP monitor allowing simultaneous both arm BP measurement might be effective for screening of subjects with potential vascular disease. Materials and methods: 220 consecutive subjects from an unselected sample of individuals of a small Italian community were screened using an automated upper-arm electronic BP monitor (Microlife WatchBP Office). Seated BP was measured in triplicate at 1 min interval. Demographic and clinical data were collected prior to any BP measurement. An average IAD difference >20 mmHg for systolic (S) and/or >10 mmHg for diastolic (D) BP was considered abnormal. Results: In 9 subjects (4.1%) an abnormal IAD was found, with lower BPs measured in the non-dominant arm (147 ± 28/78 ± 9 vs. 154 ± 15/92 ± 11 mmHg dominant, p<.01). Subjects with a significant IAD were significantly older (71 ± 8 vs. 57 ± 15 years, p=.005), had a greater body mass index (BMI: 32 ± 7 vs. 25 ± 4 kg/m2, p=.0001), higher BP levels (154 ± 15/92 ± 11 vs. 133 ± 18/80 ± 10 mmHg, p=.001) and were more likely to report obesity (56 vs. 13%, p=.001), a history of hypertension (67 vs. 35%, p=.044) or cardiovascular disease (33 vs. 10%, p=.034) than subjects with normal IAD. In a multivariate analysis, a higher BMI [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.29 (1.11, 1.51)] and SBP [1.06 (1.01, 1.10)] were significantly associated with a larger risk of an abnormal IAD (p=.001 and p=.012, respectively). Conclusions: An abnormal IAD in BP is associated with a larger prevalence of CV risk factors and CV disease. Our study confirms that simultaneous both arm BP measurement must always be accomplished in subjects at risk for or with established CV disease.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08037051.2018.1539619blood pressure measurementinter-arm difference in blood pressurecardiovascular diseasehypertensionitaly
spellingShingle Stefano Omboni
Willem J. Verberk
Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community study
Blood Pressure
blood pressure measurement
inter-arm difference in blood pressure
cardiovascular disease
hypertension
italy
title Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community study
title_full Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community study
title_fullStr Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community study
title_full_unstemmed Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community study
title_short Simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease: a community study
title_sort simultaneous double arm automated blood pressure measurement for the screening of subjects with potential vascular disease a community study
topic blood pressure measurement
inter-arm difference in blood pressure
cardiovascular disease
hypertension
italy
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08037051.2018.1539619
work_keys_str_mv AT stefanoomboni simultaneousdoublearmautomatedbloodpressuremeasurementforthescreeningofsubjectswithpotentialvasculardiseaseacommunitystudy
AT willemjverberk simultaneousdoublearmautomatedbloodpressuremeasurementforthescreeningofsubjectswithpotentialvasculardiseaseacommunitystudy