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Commonly used arm positions can overestimate blood pressure readings: study

(medicalxpress.com)
330 points wglb | 1 comments | 14 Oct 24 17:57 UTC | HN request time: 0.376s | source
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crazygringo ◴[14 Oct 24 19:30 UTC] No.41841006[source]▶
There's definitely a huge variance in blood pressure readings depending on posture, relaxation, arm position, recent activity, etc. If you buy a blood pressure monitor, it's really interesting to see how "random" a single reading at the doctors' is, and how large your fluctuation throughout the day is.

That being said, it really makes me wonder about studies that correlate blood pressure with other things. Is the blood pressure really being measured "correctly" in all those studies? Or not?

In other words, if your "true correct" blood pressure is lower than what the doctor normally takes, but then a lot of the studies are based on real-life "incorrect" higher blood pressures, then don't you similarly want an "incorrect" higher reading for consistency? Or are the studies always really done with far more accurate blood pressure readings, where the patient sits still for 5 min beforehand, keeps their legs uncrossed, is totally free of stress and anxiety, didn't exercise beforehand, etc.?

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buu700 ◴[14 Oct 24 23:26 UTC] No.41843291[source]▶
Another fun factor I learned about five years ago is temperature. My gym was offering a complimentary fitness evaluation, which among other things included a blood pressure test. The trainer was horrified to see 140-something over something equally terrible, and started explaining how she'd have to refer me to a doctor and advise that I refrain from strenuous physical activity, until I showed her a report from my annual physical a few days prior with 106/70. Turns out that walking to the gym in shorts and a T-shirt in late January causes enough vasoconstriction to really screw with some measurements.
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1. Cthulhu_ ◴[15 Oct 24 13:54 UTC] No.41848625[source]▶
No medical advice should be given on the basis of a single blood pressure test.

I've donated blood about a dozen times, my BP has been high on one or two occasions but only if it was a pattern after two or three times did they flag it up, and since it went back down the next time it was no longer a problem.

They did send me letters about the amount of ferritine in the blood though; the first time it was too high (probably due to having a thing for food that turned out to be high in iron for a while around that time) and they advised I see a doctor for it, but it went down on its own after that. And the last time it was too low, but that's a normal thing if you donate blood a few times (it was every two months for a while), they basically don't summon you again for six months.

TL;DR, a single measurement says nothing.