Blood pressure measurement: arm circumference and cuff size availability

Authors

  • Eugenia Velludo Veiga WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development
  • Edna Aparecida Moura Arcuri Universidade de Guarulhos
  • Lyne Cloutier Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
  • Jair Lício Ferreira Santos Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692009000400004

Keywords:

blood pressure determination, blood pressure, hypertension, nursing care

Abstract

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 16cm. 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, 12cm large, did not fit 82.7% of the identified AC, resulting in over or underestimated BP registers.

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Published

2009-08-01

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 4 (2009)

Section

Original Articles

License

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Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Blood pressure measurement: arm circumference and cuff size availability. (2009). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 17(4), 455-461. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692009000400004