That could be enough to hide high blood pressure start you on a drug you dont really need or lead your doctor to incorrectly adjust your medications. The aim of our study was to test the influence of body and arm position on bp measurement in diabetic patients.
Solved Measuring Cardiovascular Parameters Objectives Pra
Blood pressure measurement body position. Body position and blood pressure measurement in patients with diabetes mellitus r. It is normal to see a small amount of blood pressure fluctuation during different times of the daytaking multiple measurements corrects for these daytime fluctuations but there are some special timing issues that should be addressed. However the two positions give different measurement values. If youre curious in which position sitting lying down or standing blood pressure is normally the highest its likely standing. 1 2 both for the identification and clinical management of hypertensive subjects the measurement of blood pressure bp is a. Blood pressure is commonly measured in the seated or supine position.
When the blood pressure bp is measured the arm should be at the level of the heartin other words in the sitting and standing positions the arm should be extended out straight and should be about 2 3 inches below the shoulder to approximate the level of the heart. Systolic pressure is approximately 88 mmhg in the lying down position versus the sitting position but only when the person taking the measurement positions the patients arm so that it is at. With that in mind any time a value is recorded body position should also be recorded. World health organization who guidelines recommend that the blood pressure bp should be routinely measured in sitting or supine followed by standing position providing that the arm of the patient is placed at the level of the right atrium in each position. Netea from the division of general internal medicine department of medicine university medical center st radboud nijmegen the netherlands. The position of both the body and the arm during indirect blood pressure bp measurement is often neglected.
The aim of the present study was to test the influence of the position of the patient. But even if your numbers are high your doctor may encourage you to come in and retake your blood pressure in a few weeks or measure it every day at home to verify that its true hypertension and not the result of some other issue affecting you. Universal images group getty images. Blood pressure blood pressure measurement blood pressure variability fowlers position hypertension hypertension affects hundreds of millions of subjects worldwide and currently represents a major public health issue in the agenda of all developed countries. How you prepare for the test the position of your arm and other factors can change a blood pressure reading by 10 or more.